COVID-19 UPDATE: 84 new cases detected in the community
VOV.VN - The National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control said a further 82 people have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus after two coronavirus cases were announced by the Ministry of Health on January 28.
This is a record high figure that has been confirmed in Vietnam within 24 hours and the new outbreak has ended the 55-day streak without a new single coronavirus infection in the community.
“On hearing the news, I requested the National Steering Committee and the Ministry of Health to make public the information and immediately put in place drastic preventive measures,” said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at an urgent meeting held on January 28.
Phuc was chairing the meeting right at Hanoi’s National Convention Centre where the ongoing national congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam is taking place.
The PM asked Hai Duong and Quang Ninh where two community cases were confirmed early on January 28 to step up contact tracing, quarantine and massive testing in an effort to early detect suspect cases and prevent the virus spreading to the wider community.
The PM also proposed suspending human movements from both provinces to neighbouring localities and locate the source of the fresh outbreak.
As the Hai Duong case is said to be closely tied to the new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Ministry of Health dispatched a contingent of specialists to the locality to assist it with epidemiological investigation and surveillance.
“As the new virus variant is more transmissible, I ask relevant agencies to fully uphold the Prime Minister’s directions – that is prompt response to the new outbreak,” said Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is also head of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
Dam also decided to lift the ongoing preventive measures to a new level as the lunar New Year holiday is drawing near when large numbers of people move to their hometowns to enjoy family reunion.
The measures will be tightened at all airports, health facilities, schools, factories, State agencies, markets and supermarkets.
The head of the local administration will be held responsible if the epidemic spreads to the wider community, said Dam.
(To be continued...)
