Locals and tourists in Da Nang have started wearing masks, sanitizing their hands and checking their temperature after a man tested positive for Covid-19. 

After Vietnam had gone 99 days without a single case of community transmission the Ministry of Health on Friday said a 57-year-old man in Da Nang City had tested positive with the novel coronavirus four times. He went to Da Nang C Hospital coughing and feeling tired on July 22, and was diagnosed with pneumonia. Doctors then tested him for Covid-19 four times, and each time he was positive.

The result of a fifth test by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi will be known Saturday. Da Nang C Hospital has been locked down since noon yesterday.

Relatives of people staying in the hospital bring food and other things to their loved ones. Many have to wait for a long time under the scorching summer sun to hand over the things they bring. Others write recipients’ details on packages and hand them over to security men, who all wear face shields and masks.

At many drugstores on Quang Trung and Hai Phong Streets near Da Nang C Hospital, masks are in huge demand. According to a pharmacy employee, there are not a lot of masks in stock, but they are sold at the regular price of VND65,000 ($2.82) for a box of 50.

Van Thi Thao, 27, buys boxes of masks for her family, friends and colleagues.

People wear masks on the streets. The patient had visited a lot of places before being hospitalized, and local medical authorities have set up a hotline for people with information related to Covid-19 to call.

Nguyen Thi Tung, 66, wears a mask while selling noodles at the corner of Hoang Dieu and Trung Nu Vuong Streets.

An employee at an English center on Nguyen Van Linh Street checks the temperature of students before allowing them in. Hand sanitizers are placed at the front door.

Da Nang International Airport functions normally and there was no flight cancelations on July 24, 2020.

Masks are a must for people traveling to and working at the airport.

Some people are wary and altering Da Nang travel plans. Huy, who had been planning to stay in Da Nang for three days from the evening of July 23, changed his mind and returned to Ho Chi Minh City on July 24 evening, hours after news of the suspected Covid-19 patient came.

"The most important thing now is the safety of myself and everyone," he said.

By Thursday night the Da Nang Center for Disease Control and Prevention took samples from more than 100 people thought to have come in contact with the man, including his family members, and all have tested negative.

Photos by Khoi Tran