Instructions on self-submitting domestic travel and health declarations on Việt Nam's PC-COVID app at a location in Quảng Ninh Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

QUẢNG NINH — As well as striving to vaccinate all eligible residents, the northern province of Quảng Ninh is also working hard to take the lead in the application of information technology to fight COVID-19.

Secretary of the Quảng Ninh Party Committee Nguyễn Xuân Ký, who is also head of the provincial steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control, has asked the departments of health and public security, along with localities, to standardise data and ensure smooth connection and integration of information.

Moving to enhance its IT deployment capacity in the pandemic fight, Quảng Ninh is considering trialling artificial intelligence (AI) at the checkpoint on Bạch Đằng Bridge – a key bridge connecting the three major northern economic centres of Hải Phòng, Quảng Ninh and Hà Nội – and will expand this model if it proves effective. It is also boosting the use of QR codes at agencies, businesses, and stores, and requests visitors to those places to scan QR codes in order to help contact tracing.

Efforts are being made from provincial to grassroots levels to carry out integration and application solutions on the basis of the national population database, which is useful not only for the building of an e-administration, digital economy, and digital society, but also in the fight against COVID-19.

Established on September 1, the Quảng Ninh command centre for COVID-19 prevention and control is based at the headquarters of the provincial People’s Committee and uses the existing infrastructure of the local smart city operation centre. It is connected with 13 command centres at district level and 177 at communal level.

Via a camera system, it has discovered wrongdoings in the implementation of anti-pandemic regulations at several checkpoints, helping to quickly make improvements.

Many activities of the provincial command centre have been integrated such as reading and submitting reports, issuing directions, managing documents and tasks, convening teleconferences, and receiving and replying to people and businesses’ opinions.

This has helped maintain precise and continuous updates on the pandemic situation, keep contact with all-level centres around the clock, and make swift decisions to help the COVID-19 fight.

In addition, the provincial command centre set up two hotlines, 0203.223.588 and 0869.9199.588, available in four foreign languages (English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) to receive information about the pandemic. The hotlines handle around 80-100 calls per day, most of which ask for details about conditions for exiting and entering the province, quarantine procedures, and the vaccination policy.

The centre has advised the provincial People’s Committee on anti-pandemic measures when socio-economic activities are resumed, along with COVID-19 vaccinations for foreigners living in Quảng Ninh. It has also directed, examined, and promoted the implementation of measures against COVID-19 in the province.

By taking early action from the grassroots level and prioritising pandemic prevention, Quảng Ninh has succeeded in surmounting different waves of coronavirus infections.

So far, it has stayed free of community transmission of the coronavirus for more than 100 days and basically completed administering the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all those eligible.

The provincial administration has issued a plan to give the second doses, looking to finish the vaccination drive by October 30.

Authorities are also taking strong action to prevent the virus from entering the province to keep the local situation stable in the “new normal”.

In 2021, Quảng Ninh is aiming for a growth rate of 10 per cent in the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and more than VNĐ51 trillion (over US$2.2 billion) in State budget revenue, thereby achieving the twin targets of curbing COVID-19 and boosting socio-economic development.

Its GRDP increased 8.6 per cent in the first nine months of this year, higher than the national average. — VNS