Hanoi on alert as 20,000 people return from pandemic-hit city

Some 15,000 to 20,000 people are set to return to Hanoi from the popular Vietnamese beach city of Danang after more than a dozen people there were confirmed to have Covid-19, Kinh Te & Do Thi quoted Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung as saying at a meeting on July 27.

The Hanoi mayor, therefore, urged all local residents to imperatively apply anti-epidemic measures to avoid the virus from spreading to the capital city.

Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung speaks at the meeting. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

"People need to stay calm as the capital city has gone 105 days without any new Covid-19 cases in the community," Chung said.

He stressed that Covid-19 cases detected in Danang city and Quang Ngai province imply the risk of Covid-19 transmission to other localities, including Hanoi.

The mayor requested all people who have been to Danang C Hospital, Danang Orthopedic Hospital, Danang General Hospital, districts of Ngu Hanh Son, Lien Chieu and Hai Chau make medical declarations, be sampled for Covid-19 testing and self-isolate at home.

For people who arrived in Danang but did not go to the above-mentioned six places must also declare their health status, monitor health and practice social distancing in their neighborhoods, Chung added.

He also asked relevant agencies to keep reviewing, managing and supervising cases of people returning from pandemic-hit regions.

"People should voluntarily apply safety measures, because the municipal government cannot take care of them all," Chung stressed.

Earlier, Chairman of the Bac Tu Liem district People's Committee Tran The Cuong said that on July 26 a suspected case residing in the district returned home from Danang and was put under quarantine at a hospital, four other relatives of this person were also recommended to self-isolate. The suspected later tested negative for Covid-19.

The Ministry of Health on July 27 recorded 11 more positive cases of coronavirus, all from Danang, including four doctors in Danang Hospital. All patients are being isolated and treated in this medical facility.

In the past three days, 15 coronavirus cases have been detected in the community. Particularly, 14 cases were recorded in Danang and one case in Quang Ngai province. Two severely ill Covid-19 patients, No.416 and 418, both in Danang, have pre-existing diseases and have to be connected to Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and mechanical ventilation.

On Monday, some 80,000 visitors were stuck in Danang, and an evacuation would take four days. Domestic airlines are operating about 100 flights daily from Danang to 11 destinations around the country, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Danang is a popular tourist destination for its white sandy beaches and seafront resorts.

Before the latest outbreaks, Vietnam had been hailed as a leading example in containing the virus, thanks to an aggressive strategy of early screening of passengers at airports and a strict quarantine and monitoring program.