Medical workers take care of Covid-19 patients at the field hospital no.3 in Thu Duc City (Photo: SGGP)
On the afternoon of July 16, the city Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control said that from 6:00 am on July 15 to 6:00 am on July 16, the city recorded 2,506 Covid-19 positive cases.
Of the new Covid-19 cases, 2,208 cases (accounting for 88.11 percent) were in isolation and blocked areas while 268 cases were screened at hospitals and medical facilities.
Currently, the city has established the Command Post for Covid-19 Prevention and Control comprising 16 members located at the headquarters of the City People's Committee to monitor and quickly handle the epidemic situation in the area. The Chief of the Command Post is the Chairman of the City People's Committee.
At the same time, the City People's Committee has established a standing body of the Command Post consisting of six members, led by Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee Ngo Minh Chau. The standing agency shall be responsible for assisting the Command Post in performing the prescribed tasks and other tasks assigned by the commander in chief. Members of the Command Post take turns to handle the work relentlessly.
The city has established SARS-CoV-2 Testing Coordination Center located at the headquarters of the City People's Committee, headed by a Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee to coordinate, inspect and supervise the implementation of testing and returning SARS-CoV-2 test results. Additionally, the city also set up Center for Information and Data Analysis for the direction and administration of the City Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.
Last but not least, the southern city has established a temporary medical equipment procurement center under the City People's Committee to promptly purchase medical equipment during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in the city.
The Coordination Center for Covid-19 Vaccine Prevention and Control, led by a Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee was also established to give advice and assistance to the Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control in inspecting and supervising vaccination drive.
In addition, the city has also launched a campaign to expand green areas on the color-coded Covid-19 map (Green color code: regions for which a low risk of infection has been identified) to implement Directive 16 of the Prime Minister in the city to call for the participation of all city dwellers and the entire political machinery of the city in the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic within 15 days.
Regarding the operation of centralized isolation areas, agencies and individuals tasked with managing the city-level concentrated isolation areas, district-level isolation areas, and Thu Duc city have tightened the synchronous application of solutions to curb cross-infection in these special areas.
In addition, it is necessary to support members of the Covid-19 prevention and control team in the community, the squads serving blockade and isolation areas so that they have the best conditions and protection on duty.
On July 16, the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City (HCDC) said that the city discovered three new chains of infection including one chain in a blocked area and one in the Phung Hung market in District 5.
Currently, the health sector has carried out an investigation and conducted tracing measures to stamp out the epidemic spread.
From May 26 to July 15, the city took 1,964,004 samples in isolation areas, blocked areas, buildings, residential areas, industrial parks, export processing zones, and technology zones. Some 1,706,557 people received their test results while 257,447 others are waiting for results.
Currently, the city is preparing for the fifth vaccination drive as the city will be allocated 54,990 doses of Pfizer vaccine, more than 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, and one million doses of Moderna vaccine. The vaccination campaign will last for two or three weeks.
