Health Ministry proposes raising COVID-19 alert level in the community

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long proposed raising the level of COVID-19 alert in the community during a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Hanoi on August 14.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chairs the meeting. (Photo: VGP)
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam chairs the meeting. (Photo: VGP)

Speaking at the event, Long strongly recommended people wear face masks when leaving home, stressing the need for the strict handling of violations.

Noting the complicated nature of the series of COVID-19 cases in Hai Duong, he stated that the Ministry of Health (MOH) will help the province to trace, quarantine, localise and stamp out the outbreaks, as well as promptly restore the entire COVID-19 testing system in four local medical facilities and conduct large-scale screening with a projected 1,500 samples per day.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VGP)

Regarding the situation in Da Nang and Quang Nam, the ministry is continuing to accelerate the progress of sampling and expanding community testing, aimed at bringing the pandemic in these two localities under control by the end of the month, the acting minister said.

At the meeting, members of the steering committee agreed on the need to strengthen COVID-19 treatment in Da Nang and Quang Nam, asking the Ministries of Public Security, National Defence and Foreign Affairs to enhance their management of and tighten the inspection of foreigners into Vietnam for work.

General view of the meeting. (Photo: VGP)

They proposed mass media and organisations actively call on the people to maintain their observance of COVID-19 prevention and control measures, stating that until the introduction of an effective vaccine,, people need to follow the spirit of “co-existing with the disease” and changing the habits of the whole society to promptly respond to other diseases.

As reported by the MOH, as of 6am on August 14, Vietnam had recorded 911 COVID-19 cases, including 425 recoveries and 21 deaths. Since July 23, the country has detected 496 cases, including 52 imported ones and 444 domestic infections in 15 cities and provinces.