Government chief orders easing of countermeasures with extreme caution
VOV.VN - The easing of social distancing must be done carefully and gradually, with safe and flexible adaptation measures in order to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control nationwide as soon as possible.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised this while chairing a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on September 23 in Hanoi to review recent pandemic prevention and control measures.
Given the achievements over recent times, PM Chinh asked competent agencies to study safe, flexible, and effective adaptation solutions, whilst simultaneously continuing to promote co-ordination in pandemic prevention and control measures to provide better care for citizens.
According to a report from the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the pandemic situation is still under control nationwide, with many positive changes.
The last fortnight has seen the number of community cases and deaths consistently fall. However, the southern provinces of An Giang and Kien Giang have continued to record new outbreaks.
More than 50.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have now been distributed across the nation, with more than 35.1 million doses administered. Of the figure, approximately 21.8 million people have been vaccinated with their first dose and 6.9 million people have received their second dose.
PM Chinh pointed out that there are still a number of weaknesses in pandemic prevention and control, such as slower testing speeds compared to the speed of the spread, incomplete technological measures, people’s apathy against the pandemic in some places, and a lack of communication in some areas.
According to the Government chief, the reality shows that the pandemic is subject to unpredictable changes, thereby requiring certain changes in COVID-19 containment efforts based on safe, flexible, and effective adaptation to disease control.
The PM went on to underscore the importance of giving priority to vaccination for frontline workers and those in high-risk areas, whilst urgently promulgating regulations on child vaccinations.
Pandemic prevention and socio-economic development must go along with combating negative phenomena and dissemination of distorted information, along with fight the spread of bad news that can cause disunity and public fear, he added.
In another move, the Government Office has issued an urgent dispatch which requires the strict implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures.
As a means of continuing to strictly implement regulations and measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic whilst maintaining the recent achievements in anti-pandemic efforts, PM Chinh has requested Minister of the Ministry of Public Security General To Lam, head of the sub-committee on security and social order of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, direct localities to promptly enhance inspection activities. This will serve to prevent mass gatherings in public places and strictly handle violations, thereby avoiding the risk of community transmission.
The dispatch also ordered Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long to direct centrally-run cities and provinces, namely Ha Nam and Kien Giang provinces and Da Nang, to immediately carry out measures. This includes zoning off, quarantining, and swift testing to "filter out" hidden COVID-19 cases, whilst also taking effective solutions to manage F1 cases in new outbreak areas to resolutely stop the virus from spreading among the community.