Due to the complexity of the latest Covid-19 outbreak in HCMC, which records the wide spread of the Delta variant, the municipal authorities decided to impose stronger measures to put everything back under control, including the application of the Prime Minister’s Directive 16.
All districts and Thu Duc City are demanded to take full advantage of this social distance period to more effectively control Covid-19 hot spots in their area. Citizens and businesses must be sufficiently noticed of the content of this Directive so that they can cooperate with the localities in this critical task.
· Do not form any crowd of over 2 people in public places except in working, healthcare, and educational institutes
· Keep a social distance of 2 meters (6ft) with others in public places
· Stop all public transport activities, technology ride-hailing services, and motorbike taxis except in emergency cases
· Stop all inter-provincial traffic except essential goods, material transport and business trips of workers, specialists, and managers
· Limit inter-district traveling
· Maintain normal operations in manufacturing plants and essential goods stores, but strictly observe Covid-19 prevention methods
· Promote work-from-home mode among offices and state units except when dealing with confidential documents, essential goods, or on duty
· Follow strict rules in hospitals to avoid cross-infections, including compulsory health declaration
Citizens can purchase essential goods online or offline at 106 supermarkets, 124 traditional markets, over 2,000 convenience stores throughout the city. Those without a smartphone can use the grocery-shopping service at support locations. There is no need to store a large quantity of commodities at home in advance.
Essential good delivery services and inter-provincial merchandise transport are allowed to maintain goods flow. However, the city will propose to the Ministry of Transport to cease or limit air and railway traffic to and from HCMC. All water transport to and from the city must be with a clear Covid-19 test result one day before departure, and people in these vehicles are not allowed to disembark.
The number of people working on-site at offices, state offices must not exceed one-third of the total staff. All level-3 and leve-4 administrative services go online, and in-person submissions of necessary documents are not accepted. The armed force and healthcare staff must work on-site as usual.
The HCMC Department of Health is requested to urgently track and control Covid-19 hot spots during this 15-day social distance time. 22 task forces are established in all districts, each with 10-30 people, to fulfill this task. The testing capacity of hospitals must be risen to pinpoint infected cases as soon as possible and complete the goal of testing 5 million samples citywide.
Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong speak at the meeting (Photo: SGGP)
HCMC applies the three-level treatment method of the Health Ministry to categorize Covid-19 patients into three kinds of hospital. Those without clear symptoms will be accepted in field hospitals, while those with mild ones will be moved to the four assigned Covid-19 hospitals in four sectors of the city, and severe patients will be treated in the major hospitals of the city.
IT technology application is widely promoted to aid the monitoring and tracking tasks, including electronic health declaration and QR code using in recording personal traveling.
The HCMC Public Security Department is asked to ensure security throughout the city during the social distance time, strictly punishing those violating the law and state policies related to Covid-19 prevention and control.
