Disinfecting residential areas under cordon sanitarire in Da Nang city
The newly confirmed cases in Da Nang are local residents, patients given treatment at Da Nang hospital and a medical worker at the hospital.
The ninth case is a 76-year-old man living in Hanoi. Notably, he visited Da Nang city three weeks ago where he was admitted to Hospital C for medical check-ups.
Hospital C is one of the four medical facilities in Da Nang where the virus has been found. Local authorities have already imposed cordon sanitaire on the hospital.
Over the past six days, the virus has spread to six localities across Vietnam, with 42 patients having COVID-19. Da Nang recorded 34 cases, topping the list, followed by Quang Nam three cases, Hanoi two cases, Ho Chi Minh City two cases, Quang Ngai one case and Dak Lak one case.
As a result, Vietnam has confirmed a total of 458 coronavirus cases since the first infection was diagnosed in January. No deaths have been reported.
Of the figure, 369 patients have fully recovered, and the remaining 90 patients are receiving treatment at medical facilities.
Six new patients are severe and they are all elderly people suffering underlying illnesses. Two of them are on the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support machine.
At a national consultation for two critically ill patients, Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, director of the Ministry of Health’s Medical Examination and Treatment Department, recommended hospitals should absolutely comply with regulations regarding the process of receiving, screening, quarantining and treating patients, to prevent cross transmission.
He quoted Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at the July 29 meeting of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, saying "the fight against COVID-19 is going on, and we must first protect doctors and health workers to treat the patients.”
The Ministry of Health recommended local residents frequently wash hands with soap or sanitizer, wear face masks in public places, cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing with a tissue, cloth, or elbow, do physical exercises.
People are also advised to self-isolate at home and call a doctor if showing virus symptoms and make health declarations if returning from epidemic hit areas.
