Accordingly, the assessment of Covid-19 epidemic control in Ho Chi Minh City and localities implementing Directive 16 is based on two groups of criteria: the number of new infection cases and the risk of infection.

A locality (province, city, district, commune) is considered to have controlled the Covid-19 outbreak if they satisfy the following criteria:

The number of new locally-transmitted cases by week decreases continuously compared to the previous two weeks and falls by at least 50% compared to the highest week during the epidemic.

The ratio of the number of positive samples to the number of people taking samples for testing by RT-PCR during the day in the community falls continuously within 14 days.

The locality has no record of new clusters of infection cases for 7 days.

The Ministry of Health noted that the number of new infection cases in the community is understood as the new cases detected outside quarantined areas according to Decision 3986 dated September 16, 2020 of the Ministry of Health and other medical isolation areas.

In terms of infection risks, the locality must satisfy the following criteria to be recognized as controlling the outbreak:

A minimum reduction of 50% of districts and communes at a very high risk (according to guidelines in Decision No. 2686/QD-BCDQG dated May 31, 2021).

A minimum increase of 30% of districts and communes in the 'new normal' state.

For HCM City, it must meet the following criteria: a reduction of at least 30% of the number of districts and communes classified at a very high risk; a reduction of at least 30% of the number of high-risk districts and communes; and a reduction of at least 30% of the number of districts and communes at risk.

By August 20, Vietnam had recorded a total of 312,611 Covid-19 patients, ranking 72nd out of 222 countries and territories. The southern provinces are the epicenter, of which the four localities with the highest number of cases are Ho Chi Minh City (164,542 cases detected in this outbreak since late April), Binh Duong (55,601), Long An (16,552), Dong Nai (15,602).

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