A health worker taking a sample for testing from a resident in Đỗ Hành Street in Nguyễn Du Ward, Hà Nội on December 4, 2021. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Medical authorities in Hà Nội vaccinated 600,000 people in a single day, pushing the overall percentage of adults fully inoculated to 84.6, vice chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Hà Minh Hải said on Tuesday.

At the third meeting of the 16th session of the city’s People’s Council, held on Tuesday, Hải said the city had rolled out many drastic measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city has implemented a vaccination campaign in which 420,000-550,000 vaccine doses are injected on average every day, according to the official. This number has peaked at over 600,000 jabs issued in a single day.

Nearly 6.2 million people, or 94.2 per cent of the population aged 18 and over, have received their first dose of vaccine. More than 5.5 million people, equivalent to 84.6 per cent of people aged 18 and over, have received their second shot.

Pandemic prevention and control has been identified as a key task at all levels. The city has established 4,573 community-based teams, which are divided into community-based groups, to support the COVID-19 prevention and control in their areas.

The city has developed a treatment plan with 50,000 beds for COVID-19 patients at hospitals and medical facilities, including those with no symptoms or mild symptoms. Preparations for a medical oxygen response plan facilitates up to 40,000 patients.

The city has deployed the mobile medical station model to each commune, ward and township, asked localities to prepare medical staff, equipment and medical supplies and issued guidelines for home quarantining F0s and F1s with mild symptoms.

This will continue to improve the capacity of local health systems to receive and treat patients with COVID-19.

So far, the city has conducted nearly 4.2 million COVID-19 tests.

Hải emphasised that with synchronous and drastic solutions to support local people and businesses, the pandemic situation had been basically put under control, helping the city's economy recover while implementing safe and flexible adaptation to the COVID-19 pandemic in the next years.

Hải mentioned shortcomings such as limited understanding of the causative agent and mode of transmission of the virus, causing difficulties in identifying, assessing, and making decisions on the application of pandemic prevention and control measures.

Hải said the city still faced risks due to a high population density as the pandemic was still unpredictable.

The city had given priority to ensuring people's health and safety and at the same time maintaining production and supply chain.

The city would continue implementing measures to maintain these goals.

Drastic measures in the fight against COVID-19 

The People’s Committee of Hà Nội has issued a document guiding COVID-19 prevention and control measures amid the rising number of infections in recent days.

Under the document, the committee asked the People’s Committees of districts and towns to direct relevant forces to promptly launch mobile medical stations to receive, quarantine, manage and give treatment to COVID-19 patients following guidance from the city and Ministry of Health.

Localities were requested to form community-based teams to support the supervision of COVID-19 patients at home to ease pressure on mobile medical stations.

The city’s People’s Committee directed localities to provide training and guidance for the teams in monitoring the health of COVID-19 patients at home. The city’s Health Department was assigned to ask local hospitals to give professional guidelines to the mobile medical stations.

Meanwhile, home quarantine for F1s will be continued in line with instructions from the Ministry of Health.

Localities were allowed to make adjustments and supplementation to administrative measures in pandemic prevention and control in different pandemic levels, including the restrictions and suspension of unnecessary services, including restaurants, and mass gatherings depending on developments.

Districts and towns are also requested to coordinate with the municipal Department of Transport to coordinate and transport COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, samples and F1s to quarantine and treatment facilities. — VNS