People’s safety given top priority in COVID-19 fight, says PM
VOV.VN - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 15 stressed the need to protect people’s health, considering this a primary task of the medical sector amid the complicated nature of the COVID-19 pandemic both domestically and globally.
Greater efforts are needed to effectively contain and repel the pandemic nationwide to protect people’s health in all circumstances, Chinh told the Ministry of Health’s leaders at a working session in Hanoi.
He affirmed that Vietnam has basically “controlled the situation” and most new cases have been recorded in quarantine and lockdown areas, thus posing no risk to the community.
However, the Government leader reminded health officials to stay highly vigilant, pointing to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic remains evolving in a complex manner in a number of localities.
He asked the medical sector to draw lessons from past experiences, overcome shortcomings in COVID-19 control and perfect relevant policies to effectively fight the pandemic.
A new approach to epidemic prevention and control should be adopted, that is the offensive vs defensive strategy that should be implemented harmoniously, rationally and effectively, said the PM.
Underlining the importance of the ‘active attack’ strategy, the PM asked the medical sector to pool resources for contact tracing and extensive testing, including information technology applications, to early detect and quarantine positive cases.
He also requested the sector to ramp up negotiations on vaccine purchase with global manufacturers, while speeding up research and manufacturing Made-in Vietnam vaccines for domestic use.
The government leader acknowledged the silence sacrifice by frontline healthcare workers during the past months, and asked the medical sector to timely commend and replicate effective epidemic control models.
