Warnings about a fourth and subsequent outbreaks, more intense than the previous ones, have become a reality. Epidemic prevention and control in many localities also revealed a number of loopholes, requiring authorities at all levels to step in with specific and practical action.
At a meeting on April 30, the Prime Minister asked the whole political system, on the basis of their functions, duties and powers, especially the heads of party committees, administrations, the Fatherland Front at all levels and other socio-political organisations to take drastic actions to prevent and fight the epidemic.
However, there are still many localities that are not acting in an urgent way, even some localities allowinggatherings in public areas such as beaches, amusement parks, tourism sites, etc. without strictly implementing anti-epidemic measures under the guidance of the Ministry of Health (MoH). If COVID-19 infections occur at those events, they can very easily become “super contagious” events. Many countries around the world have paid a hefty price for risking large-scale events, which then let the pandemic spread, even to the point of being out of control.
Therefore, localities need to further strengthen their epidemic prevention and control measures; promote the role of the heads of authorities and the consensus of the whole society; resolutely stop organising unnecessary crowd-gathering activities such as festivals, pedestrian streets and night markets. Any events taking place must comply with epidemic prevention and control regulations as well as strictly implement preventive measures.
In particular, provinces and cities experiencing the epidemic such as Hanoi, Ha Nam, Vinh Phuc and Hung Yen have to mobilise to the utmost their forces, focus on tracing people related to COVID-19 cases in order to effectively quarantine and prevent the epidemic from spreading at even the lowest level. More than ever, the principle of "prevention is better than cure" should be upheld. All provinces and cities must activate all epidemic prevention and control plans to be ready for therapid detection, zoning and encirclement of epidemic outbreaks; complying with the 5K recommendations ofthe MoH.
Among the COVID-19 cases in recent times, there have been cases of infection spreading in the quarantine area (in Yen Bai) or not complying with regulations after concentrated isolation (patient No. 2899 in Ha Nam). Therefore, localities need to tighten and strictly comply with regulations oegarding isolation under the guidance of specialised agencies. Quarantine areas must ensure the security of the process from the time of pick-up at the airport, movement to quarantine areas and handover to localities after concentrated isolation.
In the coming days, after the holidays of April 30 and May 1, many big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will welcome back a large number of people, including many people coming back from epidemic-hit areas. Therefore, localities should have solutions to closely manage and supervise holiday-makers, especially those returning from epidemic-hit areas. It is appropriate for those returning to the city to make a medical report or report to the local authorities of their place of residence. That not only helps prevent illness for themselves, but is also their responsibility towards the whole society.
