The 500th COVID-19 patient being discharged from the Gia Định People’s Hospital in HCM City on September 16. The patient was severely ill since he was obese, weighing more than 100kg.Photo Courtesy of the hospital

HCM CITY— HCM City should assess the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks in residential quarters and even in residential groups and adopt appropriate preventive measures, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam told city authorities at a meeting on September 16.

It should first quell the outbreak and ensure safety before gradually reopening the economy, he said.

No possible unsafe activity should be resumed, he warned. 

Green zones, or areas deemed to be free of transmission risk, and places where a significant number of people have got two shots of vaccines should be reopened fully rather than just allowing a few sectors to resume operations.

He hailed the public for strictly complying with the stringent social distancing measures, and authorities for stepping up tests, vaccination and medical and social assistance to people in need, which has helped combat the pandemic.

But it would take more time to bring it under control, he said.    

He said the city should involve private medical facilities in providing tests and other medical services to enterprises if any COVID-19 cases are detected.  

He said the Government had instructed the COVID special task team to provide more vaccines to the city for it to soon achieve its goal of giving every resident two shots this year.   

Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the city People’s Committee, said the last three weeks of stringent social distancing had enabled a gradual expansion of green zones and narrowing of red zones, or extremely high-risk areas, with new COVID-19 incidence reducing.

The numbers of severe cases requiring hospitalisation and deaths had also fallen, he said.

The rate of people who have received the first shot of vaccine was 92 per cent, while 24 per cent were fully immunised.

The city would need more vaccines and COVID medicines, he said.

Nguyễn Văn Nên, secretary of the city Party Committee, said the city aimed to drastically improve the efficacy of each of its preventive measures until the end of this month when the lockdown would continue.

The city would permit the reopening of some sectors only on a trial basis if it is not certain about the safety, he said.

It would also have policies that enable workers from other provinces to return to their jobs, he added. —VNS