PM Phuc orders drastic countermeasures amid peak of COVID-19 wave

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the cabinet meeting

Indeed, the health sector in epidemic-hit localities such as Da Nang, Quang Nam, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City received special praise, with many of them launching quick tests on a large scale to track down cases of infection to slow the spread of the virus among the wider community.

The PM therefore urged citizens to remain calm and stay active in prevention work during this time, while functional forces must utilise positive experiences in epidemic prevention and control efforts alongside the involvement of the entire political system. In addition, a score of appropriate epidemic prevention and control measures have been taken as a means of ensuring anti-epidemic work and anti-corruption measures are performed in an effective manner.

According to Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, COVID-19 cases up to now have mainly been detected in quarantine areas, indicating the effectiveness of isolation and zoning off. He underlined the necessity of improving efficiency in terms of online medical examinations as approximately 40% of COVID-19 cases show no symptoms.

Moving forward, there may still be new infection cases scattered within the community, he warned, adding that to ensure the safety of hospitals, the Ministry has issued a set of safety criteria, with medical centres requested to comply with these regulations. It has also issued a set of test samples to both reduce biological products and save time on testing.

The Ministry of Health recommends that localities move to strengthen their effectiveness in detecting, tracing, and monitoring COVID-19 cases, or cases at risk from the virus.

With regard to ventilators, the Ministry of Health representative stated that currently there is enough production capacity in the country to quickly produce them without worrying about a shortage of ventilators occurring in COVID-19 treatment. A number of domestic units have also started to produce biological products to serve in COVID-19 testing, he added.