Public security forces deployed to assist COVID-19 fight in the south

Hundreds of public security officers have been mobilised from all over the country by the Ministry of Public Security to help contain the COVID-19 pandemic and protect people’s safety and social security in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern localities.

Traffic policemen arrive at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport before departing for HCM City to aid COVID-19 response on August 21. (Photo: VNA)
Traffic policemen arrive at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport before departing for HCM City to aid COVID-19 response on August 21. (Photo: VNA)

They have been deployed from various units, from traffic and mobile police, public security healthcare providers to administrative management and logistics units.

The Ministry of Public Security was the first to quickly set up a frontline command to coordinate the public security forces engagement in pandemic control efforts for the south since the start of the fourth coronavirus wave, said Lt Gen To An Xo, the ministry’s Chief of Office and Spokesperson.

Reinforcements have been sent to assist the pandemic-hit localities in safeguarding social order and security given that the ever-changing COVID-19 situation is heightening the risk of social disorder and fueling crimes, such as thefts, frauds, disobeying law enforcers, and cybercrime.

They will also work along other forces at COVID-19 checkpoints and in locked down areas, quarantine sites and temporary hospitals, as well as as in distributing food and essential goods to people affected by the lockdown.

Medical workers from hospitals of the public security forces in Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh and others have arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest COVID-19 hotspot, to aid with local pandemic response.