The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control announced Monday that the COVID-19 clusters in Da Nang, Quang Nam and Hai Duong have been put under control. 

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam presides over a meeting of the National Steering
Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on August 24, 2020. Photo: VGP

The 3rd phase of COVID-19 fight began on July 25 when the first community-transmitted case was confirmed in Da Nang. Since then 540 have been reported, of whom 378 are in Da Nang and 97 others in Quang Nam.

Despite the encouraging signals, the committee called on citizens to avoid subjectivity and to follow precautious measures, including wearing facemask when staying outdoors and washing hands regularly with soap or sanitizer.

The Ministry of Health was tasked to continue ensuring sufficient supply of machines and biological products and enhancing testing capacity.

Regarding testing capacity, Viet Nam has conducted up to 1,009,145 RealTime RT-PCR tests by August 24, said the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health.

The testing capacity has ramped up quickly from just two testing sites nationwide in late January this year to 120 by May.

Last April, the Ministry of Health said Viet Nam was one of the leading countries in the world with highest proportion of COVID-19 tests in relation to positive cases.

The nation’s daily testing capacity reaches 27,000 samples and the total tested samples rose to 212,800 as of April 12, the ministry added.

As of 6:10 pm on Monday, the Southeast Asian country had 1,022 COVID-19 patients, including 588 recovered cases and 27 deaths./.