Vietnam’s coastal city of Da Nang plans to test its entire population for COVID-19 infections

The governing authorities of Da Nang said, a 40 new cases of coronavirus were reported across the country linking to the tourist hot spot, resulting to a total infections of 586, with three deaths. With this, Vietnam’s coastal city of Da Nang plans to test its entire population of 1.1 million people for coronavirus infection.

Photo credit: time.com

Da Nang is a coastal city in central Vietnam known for its sandy beaches and history as a French colonial port. 

Da Nang is where the first locally transmitted infection in more than three months was detected last week and most of the new cases are associated to hospitals in Da Nang city.

The Health Ministry said on Saturday that up to 800,000 visitors to Da Nang have left for other parts of the country since July 1, adding that more than 41,000 people have visited three hospitals in the city since.

Local medical officials in Da Nang have conducted 8,247 coronavirus tests in the city since July 25, when the latest group was first detected. Testing capacity will be increased to 8,000-10,000 per day, the governing authorities said.

Vietnam has detected new coronavirus cases in other cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with links to Da Nang.

Meanwhile, authorities of the capital city, Hanoi said late on Saturday it had carried out around 49,000 tests since Thursday after the city ordered mass testing for all people who recently returned from the popular coastal city.

After the country reported its first case in January, the country had been preparing for the possibility of wider community transmission, Dr. Kidong Park, the World Health Organization’s representative in Vietnam, told Reuters.

The government has always been determined to ensure that its people are protected from COVID-19 by keeping the country’s relatively low number of cases and controlling the transmission within the community,

Park said in an emailed statement.