Public transport to Da Nang suspended further

Only official vehicles and those that carry patients, workers, food, and construction materials are exempt, the Ministry of Transport said on Tuesday night.

Da Nang authorities have decided to continue social distancing for another two weeks, limiting gatherings to two people and household shopping to once every three days.

The city of 1.1 million people ended an earlier 15-day social distancing on Tuesday.

Due to the travel restrictions, aviation authorities are set to arrange seven special flights on Thursday and Friday to evacuate nearly 1,700 tourists stranded in Da Nang since July 28 to HCMC and Hanoi. They will be quarantined for 14 days on arrival.

The ministry has also instructed carriers to reduce the frequency of flights to Chu Lai Airport in Da Nang's neighbor Quang Nam Province, another Covid-19 hotspot with 77 cases of infection, the second highest after Da Nang (283) since July 25 when local spread resurfaced after a three-month hiatus.

With people in Da Nang told to go to the market only once in three days, each family will be given five coupons to use over 15 days to prevent large gatherings in markets.

There have been 405 Covid-19 cases in 14 cities and provinces, including Hanoi and HCMC, in the new outbreak, including 17 deaths, all linked to Da Nang and with all the victims having underlying chronic morbidities, mostly renal failure.

The oldest was 86 and the youngest, 33.