Vietnam will be able to quell a new outbreak of coronavirus infections that on Thursday blindsided the country within next week, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said.

Deputy PM Dam asserted on Friday that the country will surely suppress a new wave of COVID-19 transmissions in the next eight days.

He was referring to hundreds of local cases having been announced in several northern provinces and cities including Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, and some others since Thursday, after Vietnam had spent nearly two months detecting zero domestic infections.

“It has been two days since I asked Hai Duong [an epicenter with over 100 cases reported since Thursday] to contain the outbreak within 10 days,” Dam was quoted as saying by the Vietnam Government Portal.  

“We have eight more days ahead.

“All forces have to try to keep our promise to quell the new wave [within 10 days].”

The deputy prime minister told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday that the 10-day period would be enough to overpower the viral transmission given Vietnam’s aggressive contact tracing regimen and targeted testing and lockdowns.

Dam also acts as chief of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Vietnam confirmed 62 more local coronavirus cases on Friday, taking the national tally to 1,705, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry also announced 18 recoveries the same day, with the total number of recovered patients reaching 1,448.

Thirty-five patients have died, most suffering comorbid health conditions.

Authorities are conducting quick and extensive contact tracing to contain the new wave of infections, at a time when the Lunar New Year holiday, Vietnam’s biggest festival, is only two weeks away.

At the time of writing, the government is quarantining 21,345 people who came into contact with infected patients or entered Vietnam from pathogen-hit regions.

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