Medical staff from a mobile health centre in Ward 25, Bình Thạnh District, HCM City give medicine to a COVID-19 patient self-quarantined at home. Patients who recover from the virus after receiving home treatment need to present a certificate from their local authorities to get a COVID-19 'green card.' — VNA/VNS Photo Đinh Hằng

HCM CITY — HCM City’s Department of Health has proposed giving the COVID-19 ‘green card’ to people who have received at least one dose of vaccine.

The plan was sent to the city’s Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Saturday after a meeting between its departments of health, information and communications, and planning and investment.

A COVID-19 ‘green card’ is a certificate of vaccination, provided to people who have developed antibodies against COVID-19 due to being vaccinated, or having recovered from the virus and completed mandatory quarantine.

The health department proposed giving this card to people at least two weeks after they receive the first dose of vaccine (for vaccines that require two shots) and also to patients who recovered from COVID-19 and are able to present a certificate of recovery from their local health authorities.

Certificates of recovery are also required for patients who treat themselves at home and have fully recovered, according to a set of instructions on identifying COVID-19 recoveries signed by Dr Lê Hồng Nga, deputy director of the HCM City centre of disease control, on Saturday.

“For those who tested themselves and self-quarantined at home, after they get a certificate of recovery from the health centres of their wards, communes and towns, or from teams of medical staff who take care of COVID-19 patients at home, they will be certified as having completed self-quarantine,” the instructions read.

“Those who can’t get such a certificate will have to get vaccinated against COVID-19.”

There were 90,203 patients receiving treatment at home in HCM City as of Friday. — VNS