Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam visited a household with asymptomatic COVID-19 cases under home treatment. — Photo zingnews.vn

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam asked HCM City to gather all homeless people still on the streets into either quarantine facilities or social welfare shelters after testing for COVID-19.

Đam, who is serving as the head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, made the order yesterday while leading a Government delegation to inspect and meet with District 4’s authorities as the southern city yesterday entered 15 days of heightened social distancing.

He said that during the previous social distancing campaigns, localities have complained that they didn’t have enough human resources to enforce the rules and contain the outbreaks, so the central Government this time has sent thousands of personnel – from doctors to military units – to make this the ‘final battle’.

He wanted the leaders of districts and wards of HCM City to pledge that they could contain the outbreaks within this 15-day period.

The enforcement has to be consistently stringent throughout the campaign, and cannot be “strict at first, then gradually loosened up in later days,” he stressed.

“Negligent and incapable officials should step aside,” Đam said, adding that the spread of the virus in the community should not be allowed to go on like this.

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Võ Minh Lương, Deputy Minister of National Defence, at the meeting, asked local leaders to “fully utilise the military reinforcements they have received”.

“This campaign is the golden window to contain the outbreaks. All military personnel assigned to help local administrations are ready to work, but the localities must have effective coordination and management,” Lương stressed.

Lương asked the localities to properly manage the homeless, considered to be high-risk groups, adding that they could be sent to military barracks.

In here, they will be tested for COVID-19, if positive, they would be sent to quarantine facilities, and if not, they would be assigned to shelters for care.

Deputy PM Đam said that all 312 wards and communes in HCM City by all means necessary must gather up all those people who are homeless and remain roaming the streets within the day.

Also yesterday, he has called for HCM City residents to provide support and help COVID-19 cases.

As the city ramps up testing, the number of new cases could rise dramatically and many asymptomatic cases or those with very mild symptoms would have to be treated at home.

“We should urge people to take care of each other, support each other mentally. Financially struggling households with COVID-19 cases could be supported by their neighbours with food and meals, just leave at their doors so they could take them inside,” he said.

With help from others, proper treatment regimen, and optimism, the infected might have reduced chances of the disease progressing, the official noted, commending District 4’s Ward No 4 in making use of recovered COVID-19 patients to cook and deliver meals to cases under home treatment.

Still, he noted that the city’s authorities must fulfill their responsibilities in taking care of people’s basic needs in terms of food and medical attention so that they can properly observe the social distancing rules.

The Government official also called on the city to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination. — VNS