Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam chairs a working session on Covid-19 prevention and control activities with HCMC and relevant departments on July 20. (Photo: SGGP)
The statement was made by Secretary of the HCMC Party’s Committee, Nguyen Van Nen at a working session on Covid-19 prevention and control activities which was held on July 20 with the participation of Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam, head of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, representatives of the Ministries of Health, Public Security, Science and Technology, Information and Communications, and the City’s Government.
The city hoped the Deputy PM and the special mission team consisting of ministries’ leaders to discuss and issue effective solutions that are more efficient, tighten and enhance the social distancing measures under the Directive 16.
Secretary of the HCMC Party’s Committee, Nguyen Van Nen
Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam agreed with the City Party Chief’s proppsal on launching stronger measures to prevent the spread of virus due to the southern hub’s special areas.
He highly appreciated the city’s efforts in setting up medical treatment facilities for newly-infected cases of Covid-19 to provide the right care to patients at the right time and maintain minimum level of mortality rates from the coronavirus.
Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam
The Deputy PM also affirmed that the Ministry of Health has been given special mechanism of medical equipment procurement to create the biggest advantage for the frontline forces, especially medical treatment facilities for patients with serious mental illness.
Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of HCMC Duong Anh Duc
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of HCMC Duong Anh Duc said that the city will begin the fifth phase of its Covid-19 vaccination drive on July 22, with 930,000 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 , including AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna. The priority people in this phase includes people aged 65 or older, those with underlying health conditions.
The program will be carried out at 20 hospitals and 624 vaccination stations with 120 doses of vaccines of each site per day in two weeks. In 624 locations, the vaccination drive will be conducted at 615 sites while the remaining places that are blocked areas have to wait until they’re safe to lift blockade orders.
Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam (L) speaks at the event.
The city has so far received five million more doses, reaching 50 percent of the total number of people who received at least one vaccine dose in the late September, Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam added.
Secretary of the municipal People’s Commiitee Nguyen Van Nen suggests to add more individuals into priority groups.
Secretary of the municipal Party Commiitee Nguyen Van Nen suggested that the additional priority groups should include individuals, likely relatives of the frontline forces, volunteers in charitable, prevention and control activities, severe Covid-19 patients, poor people and low-income laborers who are living in residential areas of narrow renting rooms that face a high risk of becoming Covid hotspots.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said that the situation remains complicated. The spread of coronavirus is expected to be reduced in the next 7-10 days after taking advantage of 14-day social distancing rules in accordance with the Government's Directive No. 16 to contain Covid-19 in 16 southern localities starting on July 19.
Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam expressed his sympathy with HCMC’s people that spend long-lasting social distancing measures with many difficulties and challenges. The city needs to continue to promptly identify cases of F0 to reduce community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the number of deaths as well as prepare large-scale medical treatment facilities for newly-infected cases of Covid-19.
