The capital city of Hanoi started August 8 an RT-PCT test campaign for tens of thousands of holidaymakers returning from Da Nang City, the epicenter of the current coronavirus outbreak.

Nearly 75,000 people returning from Da Nang coronavirus hotspot or
having close contact with COVID-19 patients will be tested this time   

A total of 13 inner and outlying districts of Hanoi are required to apply this testing system, a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction that produces better results than quick tests. 

Latest statistics show Hanoi has more than 74,900 people in need of such PCR tests this time. They are people who returned from Da Nang, a famous tourist destination in central Vietnam and showed virus symptoms. They also include people who had close contact with the COVID-19 patients. 

The Ministry of Health announced a new positive case in Hanoi on August 8 morning. The 42-year-old man living in the outlying district of Hoai Duc travelled to Da Nang with his family in mid-July.

This is the fifth coronavirus patient in the capital city since the fresh outbreak occurred in Vietnam two weeks ago. 

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on August 7 it would be very dangerous if the virus spread far and wide in Hanoi, a populous city in Vietnam.

The capital has been accelerating contact tracing and testing to early detect suspect cases in the community. It has raised the virus alert to a higher level and decided to give fines to those who intentionally flout rules on wearing masks in public places, starting August 7.