Twenty-six severe COVID-19 patients are discharged from the HCM City COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital managed by Chợ Rẫy Hospital on September 9 after recovering. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The COVID-19 outbreak will remain complex so HCM City will take various measures to adapt to it, Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the city People’s Committee, has said.

Speaking at a press meeting on Monday (September 13) he said economic activities must be made safe since the disease would prolong.  

The city Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control would work to control the disease, and based on the results the city would gradually ease social distancing and reopen the economy, he said.   

Easing social distancing would be based on measurable indexes such as the rate of vaccination, transmission rate and the capacity of the city health system, he said.

The city has a system to measure and update these indexes periodically and would soon have a set of safety criteria for businesses, he said.  

It is also considering how to design green cards to be provided to people who are fully vaccinated.  

It is set to speed up provision of second shots to people who have got the first.  

It plans to strengthen the capacity of health facilities, including medical stations at wards and communes, at the grassroots level to improve COVID treatment.

Since August 23 the city has seen red zones, or extremely high-risk areas, steadily shrink and green zones, deemed to be free of transmission risk, expand thanks to the restrictions in place.

Admission of COVID-19 patients into hospitals and treatment have also improved.

Patients treated at home have been provided with medicines and timely medical assistance since the Military Medical Department dispatched its doctors to mobile medical stations at wards and communes in August.  

More than 6.5 million people have got at least one shot of the vaccine, or 90 per cent of the city’s population aged 18 and above, and 1.3 million have received a second.    

Districts Cần Giờ, Củ Chi, Phú Nhuận, Nhà Bè, 5, 7, and 11, which have controlled the outbreak well, have been allowed to ease social distancing requirements.

This week the city will seek opinions from experts in various fields, businesses and the public to wrap up plans for COVID prevention and control and reviving the economy. VNS