A zero-đồng food stall for people in a lockdown area in Tân Quý Ward in HCM City's Tân Phú District. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City People’s Committee has instructed authorities in Thủ Đức city and all districts to strongly encourage residents to fill out online health declaration forms so that COVID-19 cases can be detected as soon as possible, the committee’s chairman Nguyễn Thành Phong said at an online meeting on Monday.

“Social distancing and serious preventive measures help the city control transmission of COVID. We can detect and treat patients early before they show symptoms,” Phong said.  

He instructed local authorities to assess the effectiveness of preventive measures and carry out stronger measures if necessary.

The Department of Health should mobilise more health officials to speed up COVID-19 screening at industrial parks and export processing zones, Phong said. Drugstores should also work with local health centres if they detect people with symptoms who buy medicine.

The Department of Industry and Trade should direct relevant agencies to ensure trade, consumption and supply of goods between the city and other provinces, and make plans to store goods for six months to serve the people.

The city has the fourth highest number of COVID cases in the country, he said, adding that it is expected to record more cases because of large-scale screening.

Nguyễn Tấn Bỉnh HCM City, head of the city Department of Health, said the city is tightening preventive measures in the next nine days to stamp out the outbreak.  

Based on the assessment of results after the 15- day social distancing period ends, the city will then consider resuming non-essential services, Bỉnh said.   

The city had recorded 640 COVID-19 patients as of June 7, according to the Ministry of Health. Of these, 268 have recovered, 371 are under treatment, and one has died.

The city Hospital for Tropical Diseases has admitted three severely ill patients, including one from An Giang Province General Hospital and the others from Long An Province’s regional general hospital.  

There were 362 cases related to the Gò Vấp District outbreak cluster, as of May 26.

The city Department of Information and Communications has launched a digital map providing information about quarantine and lockdown areas, COVID-19 patients, and health facilities.

The database for the map is regularly updated by the city Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention.

People in the city can view the map on their computers or mobile phones by accessing https://hatangdothi.tphcm.gov.vn/covid19/, https://1022.tphcm.gov.vn, or https://bando.tphcm.gov.vn/covid19. —  VNS