 |
Although the number of Covid-19 cases has been on the rise recently, it is unlikely that the Covid-19 outbreak will recur as worst as it was in Ho Chi Minh City and Southern provinces in 2021 when it caused an overload for the medical system and a sharp increase in the number of deaths, according to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor at the Center for Public Health Emergency Operation of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health.
Yesterday afternoon, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health reported that the country had 2,474 more cases of Covid-19 and continued to record no deaths.
As the number of Covid-19 cases in Hanoi continues to increase, the Department of Tourism of Hanoi has sent an official request to units, businesses, organizations and individuals providing tourism services in the capital city to strengthen the Covid-19 epidemic prevention and control task.
Tourists are required to strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s instructions and fully implement measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic for tourists and staff according to the 2K message including donning face masks and using disinfectants.
Talking about the risk of the Covid-19 epidemic spreading during the upcoming long holidays of April 30 and May 1, the associate professor predicted an impossibility of a huge outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic explaining that with the current subtypes which can spread faster than others are still variants of the Omicron strains but they mainly causes mild disease and does not cause severe symptoms.
However, the health sector needs to re-evaluate the risk of Covid-19 to see if there is a dangerous new strain that can cause severe complications and dangerous symptoms, or if the present vaccines are still effective against these new coronavirus subvariants to have warnings for people as we as to adopt appropriate preventative measures.
The Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City has just sent a document to the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs on strengthening epidemic prevention activities in schools. The health authority also attached a list of 16 infectious diseases to the document.
Some 16 infectious diseases including measles, Hand, foot and mouth, rubella, whooping cough, diphtheria, mumps, chickenpox, influenza (A, B), dengue fever, viral pharyngitis, cholera, meningococcal, viral encephalitis, severe viral pneumonia, severe illness of unknown cause and Covid-19 must be well managed in schools.
Accordingly, the Department of Health requires competent departments to direct affiliated units to monitor, detect and report suspected or infected cases of infectious diseases. Schools should immediately notify local health stations when they detect suspected cases having one of the infectious diseases or if many learners, teachers, and staff have health problems at the same time.
Moreover, schools should coordinate with district health stations to organize epidemiological investigations, case handling, and disease prevention. Besides, schools should disseminate information on disease prevention and the benefits of vaccination to parents.
The Department of Health of the Southern Province of Dong Nai said that the province currently records about 10 mild cases of Covid-19 every day. Notably, three cases of the cluster of cases recorded at Pouchen Vietnam Company in Bien Hoa City were detected, so the provincial Center for Disease Control was requested to coordinate with health centers of districts to closely monitor clusters of new Covid-19 cases, especially clusters of cases at production establishments and educational institutions.
At the same time, the health sector should recommend people receive a vaccine against Covid-19, wear masks, and disinfect in medical facilities, places where many people gather, especially on the upcoming holidays of April 30 and May 1.
