and conduct COVID-19 testing for them thrice, given the complex and unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in the southern largest city.

A tube containing sample collected for COVID-19 testing in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

This is part of an urgent dispatch the MoH sent to the People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities on July 7 in the face of the coronavirus resurgence in HCM City and nearby localities.

The ministry demanded provinces and cities to take more drastic and stronger actions soon to contain and bring the outbreak under control.

The People’s Committee of HCM City was asked to discuss with its counterparts in other localities before sending people from this city to other provinces and cities. They also need to reach consensus on the arrangement of transport vehicles, which must satisfy anti-COVID-19 regulations.

The MoH told provincial-level administrations to consider all people coming or returning from HCM City, except for those from other localities who go through but do not stop in HCM City, as those having close contact with persons directly meeting confirmed COVID-19 patients.

These people have to undergo home quarantine for seven days, starting from the day they arrive in their localities, and continue self-monitoring their health in the seven following days. They must also get tested for COVID-19 thrice, on the first, third, and sixth days of the home quarantine period.

Persons from HCM City were asked to minimise contact with other people and not take part in mass gatherings. Any showing symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, or loss of taste must immediately report to their nearest healthcare establishments to receive guidance, according to the MoH.

Meanwhile, drivers of vehicles transporting goods from and to HCM City also have to comply with pandemic prevention and control rules set by the MoH.

HCM City asked to take measures to minimise locals’ movement

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has issued a dispatch requiring intensified efforts to better COVID-19 prevention and control amidst complex developments of the pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam’s largest economic hub.

The Government leader asked chairpersons of the People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces, Ministers and heads of ministry-level agencies and Government agencies to strictly follow directions of the Party Central Committee’s Politburo and Secretariat, the Government, the Prime Minister, and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control as well as guidance and regulations of the Health Ministry.

It is a must to seriously carry out measures to prevent, detect and zone off new outbreaks, conduct effective quarantine and provide active treatment, he said, requiring the supply of food, food stuffs and necessities for people in quarantine sites and locked-down areas.

The PM also asked for the application of mandatory prevention and control measures for all people coming from pandemic-hit areas. The Ministry of Health is urged to regularly update the list of pandemic-hit areas on its e-portal.

For Ho Chi Minh City, while the whole city has not been considered a pandemic-hit area, people coming from or going through areas that have not been declared as pandemic-hit ones must make compulsory medical declarations. The local authorities of where they go must monitor them, conduct epidemiological investigations and make decisions on quarantine, testing and health monitoring in accordance with the results of the investigations.

The Prime Minister requested the municipal People’s Committee to strengthen directions for stronger and more radical measures to soon cut off the infection chains and control outbreaks.

Locals were required to avoid large gatherings and follow distancing regulations.

The Government leader also urged the city to immediately complete necessary work on legal affairs and communications to minimise the movement of people./.

Source: VNA

HCM City develops response plan to care for up to 500 critically-ill COVID-19 patients

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has developed a response plan for a scenario in which the number of COVID-19 patients reaches 10,000 – 15,000, including 500 severe cases.