Returnees from Đà Nẵng arrive at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in HCM City on Thursday (August 15).

The HCM City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Saturday (August 15) that the collection of samples for Covid-19 testing and health declarations from people returning to the city from Đà Nẵng since July 1 has been completed.

A total of 52,449 people were tested, and six were positive for the disease, 51,577 were negative and the remaining 866 are awaiting the results, it said in a statement.

Chairman of the city People’s Committee, Nguyễn Thành Phong, has urged public security authorities to consider imprisoning people who fail to make health declarations or make false ones, escape from quarantine and join mass gatherings.

The HCDC said the city has controlled the spread of COVID-19, but illegal immigration and people’s reluctance to declare when returning from virus-hit areas increase the risk of outbreaks.

A Chinese man from who illegally entered Việt Nam was one of 18 new confirmed cases in the country on Friday, which took the total number so far to 929, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The 27-year-old entered the country with seven others through the northern border on July 27, and travelled by car to HCM City.

On July 30 they were discovered by city public security officials and sent to the Củ Chi quarantine camp where they were tested for the coronavirus.

As of Saturday (August 15) the city had 11 COVID-19 patients being treated, all of them in stable condition and with no fever, cough or breathing problems.

More than 1,000 people are being held in quarantine facilities in the city, and 2,450 people have been ordered to self-isolate.