Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong required heads of organizations, industrial parks, and departments to activate the preventive measures against Covid-19 at the highest level. Chairman Phong made the requirement while convening a meeting on Covid-19 prevention and control with leaders of districts and Thu Duc City yesterday. Mr. Phong at the meeting (Photo: SGGP) Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tan Binh, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, said that Ho Chi Minh City has recently recorded one case from ship MD SUN anchoring at Phuoc Long ICD Port. The first tests on crews showed one positive result (the patient 3,008). Health workers continued to carry out tests on 18 crew members on board and two additional positive cases (the patients 3,124 and 3,125) were confirmed.
Therefore, Chairman Phong requested to take heed of all pathways that the epidemic can enter Ho Chi Minh City through airways, seaports, and roads. People who come to localities where have reported cases of infection must write health declarations and the city health sector must keep an eye on suspected Covid-19 cases. Pandemic control is the top priority of the city at the moment as the development of the coronavirus pandemic is so complicated, the chairman underlined. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tan Binh said that up to now, Ho Chi Minh City has 267 cases of Covid-19 including 243 recoveries while 24 are currently being treated; all of them are in stable condition. The southern metropolis on April 29 recorded one case in the community (the patient 2,910), who is close contact F1 of the patient 2,899 in the Northern Province of Ha Nam. The patient 2,910 lives in Ha Nam Province arriving in Ho Chi Minh City on April 27. He stayed in the first room in the 20 rental house in Pham Dang Giang Street in Binh Hung Hoa Ward of Binh Tan District. Although HCMC has not had a community outbreak since the outbreak at Tan Son Nhat airport in February 2021 up to now, the metropolis is at high risk of coronavirus infections because it is the country’s commercial and socioeconomic center. Along with that, after the holidays, a large number of people returned to Ho Chi Minh City inevitably having the virus from domestic outbreaks, said Prof.Dr. Nguyen Tan Binh. Professor Binh voiced his concern over a high risk of cross-infection at concentrated quarantine areas if these facilities are under poor management. Along with that, Ho Chi Minh City is home to many big hospitals that have to receive patients from many provinces in the country resulting in a potential risk of Covid-19 epidemic infiltration. According to Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tan Binh, the health sector in Ho Chi Minh City currently has sufficient stock of biological products, test kits with 90,000 PCR and 30,000 fast test kits available. The health sector is preparing to buy additional 200,000 PCR test and 100,000 quick test kits. There will be coordination between big hospitals and 24 grass-root medical facilities in the city to ensure testing capacity.
Chairman Phong convenes a meeting on Covid-19 prevention and control with leaders of districts and Thu Duc City yesterday (Photo: SGGP) Ho Chi Minh City has also mobilized 400 students from medical universities to take samples for tests. The health sector has had a plan for treatment of 50-100 Covid-19 patients and a plan for 100-200 patients and even more. The health sector in Ho Chi Minh City has prepared a plan for more field hospitals with 5,000 beds to receive 30,000 cases under the direction of the Prime Minister. The plan will be submitted to the city People's Committee, said Dr. Binh. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tan Binh also said that Ho Chi Minh City is also a gateway for international traffic with an airport and nearly 60 large and small seaports. Particularly, a large number of people had contact with many MD SUN ship crew members who have been getting off the ship and not been tested; therefore, the risk of community infection is very high. Mr. Phong directed heads of concentrated quarantine areas must be held accountable if cross-infection occurs. He emphasized the medical sector and local authorities must be reminded of paying special attention to monitoring the health of people who have finished isolation period because over the past time, many people after completing their isolation period with three negative tests have tested positive for Covid-19. He directed that each district must have one centralized quarantine area with at least 20 beds and local administrations must prepare a plan to expand the area to 50 beds even to 100 beds within 24 days. Leaders of industrial parks, export processing zones, production establishments must always have a plan to handle when one or more Covid-19 cases are confirmed in compliance with the guidelines. Furthermore, those facilities that do not ensure the epidemic prevention task will be temporarily suspended from operations, he emphasized. According to Chairman Phong, HCMC now has more than 19,000 Covid-19 community groups with more than 52,000 trained members. He noted that in the coming time, it is necessary to promote the role of these groups in order to detect cases of illegal entrants and cases of the disease in the community as well as assist health workers in tracing contacts with patients in the community. Moreover, these groups will increase propagandizing the information of the disease and monitor people in the blocked area. The city leader stated that all eateries must not serve over 30 customers at the same time and must strictly comply with other Covid-19 prevention and control regulations. Mr. Phong emphasized district-level authorities who are in charge of inspecting these eateries to make sure they follow the rules and focus on raising the awareness of eatery owners so that they will voluntarily comply with the regulations. If a case of Covid-19 is reported in an eatery, it must be shut down; therefore, eateries should adhere to the regulation if they want to continue operating.

By Thanh An - Translated by Anh Quan