Tourists at Bái Đính Pagoda in the northern province of Ninh Bình on the first day of reopening yesterday. PM Phúc said local authorities can promote tourism for the National Reunification Day holiday on April 30 but the gathering of large number of people should continue to be banned. VNA/VNS Photo Minh Đức

HÀ NỘI - Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc said Việt Nam has basically pushed back the COVID-19 pandemic as no new cases of community infection have been reported in the past 12 days, but people should still stay vigilant.

At a Government meeting on the pandemic on Tuesday, he said Việt Nam is among the countries with the lowest infection rate. Việt Nam has so far recorded 270 cases and no fatalities. No new cases have been reported in areas classified as high-risk over the past few days.

The result was thanks to the drastic measures taken by society. Countries, international organisations and more than 100 non-governmental organisations in Việt Nam had praised the Vietnamese Party, Government and people for their efforts in combating the pandemic, he said.

He urged the public to continue preventive measures like washing hands regularly and wearing masks even as social distancing policies had been eased.

“It is not time to neglect preventive measures because there are still positive cases or relapsed patients,” he said.

PM Phúc asked localities to resume social activities and restart economic sectors with high safety levels while strictly following pandemic prevention plans.

He assigned chairpeople of People’s Committees of provinces and cities to ease restrictions on business and services sectors to boost business and production.

Local authorities can promote tourism for National Reunification Day holiday on April 30 but gatherings of a large number of people should continue to be banned, he said.

The PM also asked localities to take measures to ensure students are safe when they return to school.

He also asked that sectors severely affected by the pandemic such as tourism, services, and aviation be given assistance.

The Government leader urged localities to address negative phenomena and corruption in medical equipment purchasing, saying such acts must be taken to investigation agencies.

The National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control and relevant agencies need to continue implementing the strategies adopted to combat COVID-19, he said, stressing that pandemic prevention work must continue at full capacity. VNS