HCMC – The Danang City government has continued banning local residents from leaving home for an additional 10 days, from 8 a.m. on August 26, citing the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus’s incubation period of 14 days.
At a press briefing on August 24, Danang Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh said Delta transmission risk in the city remained high. On August 24 alone, the city detected 153 Covid-19 cases, the local media reported.
In the upcoming 10 days, the city will divide districts into three areas based on the test results of residents, which will be coming out this evening. Accordingly, extremely-high-risk areas will be put under lockdown for 14 days, while residents in coronavirus-free areas will implement measures that are more stringent than those of the prime minister’s Directive 16.
As for areas at high risk of transmission, residents must not leave their homes. Supermarkets, commercial centers and convenience stores can maintain operations and the number of employees working there can be raised from 30% to 60% of their total workforce to quickly supply food and necessities to residents.
In addition, the number of employees at State agencies must not exceed 10% of their total.
In the recent past, only factories in industrial parks and hi-tech parks were allowed to operate. However, in the next 10 days, other businesses can resume operations but with a maximum of 30% of their workers and they must make arrangements for their staff to stay after work, Minh added.
Director of the municipal Department of Health Ngo Thi Kim Yen said the Delta variant is highly transmissible and has an incubation period of 14 days, so the city needs at least 14 days to assess whether the stay-at-home mandate works.
Over the past nine days, the city has isolated many Covid cases from the community.
Director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade Le Thi Kim Phuong said the department had asked supermarkets and food suppliers to submit a list of shippers so that the healthcare sector can test and vaccinate them.
The city will reopen the Da Son slaughterhouse, the largest in Danang, to boost supplies of fresh meat for local residents. However, only 30% of the slaughterhouse’s workers can return to work and they must stay at the slaughterhouse after work, be tested and get vaccinated.
Danang has vaccinated 140,000 people of the planned 800,000. If it receives enough vaccine doses, the city can complete the vaccination drive within a month.
Since May 4, the city has recorded 3,399 Covid cases, including 1,820 under treatment. The city has decided to expand Field Hospital No. 2 by 2,000 beds.
The city had earlier asked residents not to leave their homes for a week, from 8 a.m. on August 16 to 8 a.m. on August 23, and then extended the period by three days, until 8 a.m. on August 26.
