Returning citizens from France on a repatriation flight on December 30 were sent to a military-run centralised quarantine in the northern province of Hoà Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Hải

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Health has called for tighter measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensure health and safety during the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday, with the focus on strict management of foreign entries.

In a new directive issued over the weekend, the health ministry requested local health departments to intensify supervision of entry conditions and procedures, and medical quarantine to detect and treat any infections to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.

The departments should take actions to increase the responsibility and awareness of each medical worker in disease prevention and control, carry out disease prevention plans and scenarios, and assign tasks for individuals and units in case any infection is detected.

They were also asked to instruct district and commune health units to work with local authorities and the police to monitor those under quarantine at civil facilities and at home, and those who have completed their time at concentrated quarantine establishments.

The ministry asked the local health departments to intensify inspections over disease prevention and control, and allocate personnel to be on duty around the clock during Tết, the longest and biggest annual festival in Việt Nam which will fall in the middle of February, with a large number of Vietnamese overseas wanting to return home.

It is also necessary to work with the media to encourage the public to follow the ministry’s measures to prevent winter-spring diseases as well as its 5K (in Vietnamese) message: Khẩu trang (facemask) – Khử khuẩn (disinfection) – Khoảng cách (distance) – Không tụ tập (no gathering) – Khai báo y tế (health declaration). VNS