Deputy Head of the Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Economic Recovery Pham Duc Hai at the meeting (Photo: SGGP)
On the afternoon of March 3, the Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control and Economic Recovery of Ho Chi Minh City held a press conference to provide information on the epidemic situation in the city and issues of public interest chaired by Deputy Head of the Steering Committee Pham Duc Hai.
In order to overcome the peak of coronavirus wave in the next two weeks, related agencies, people's committees of districts, Thu Duc City, and wards and communes must strictly assess the epidemic level in the locality and immediately overcome their weaknesses as well as control the situation to turn orange zones into yellow zones and yellow zones into green zones…
The city continues to open a new campaign to protect people at risk from now until the end of March 31. Medical workers in local healthcare stations will go to each household to encourage unvaccinated people over 65 years old with underlying diseases, screening people in high-risk groups to receive enough doses.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, Ho Chi Minh City will also continue to implement measures to limit the spread from children to people in risk groups and provide guidance on home care for children with Covid-19. All children under 12 with symptoms such as fever should be examined and screened for Covid-19. If families don’t have rooms to quarantine children with Covid-19 to prevent transmission for relatives in high-risk groups, infected children should be hospitalized and treated.
Mr. Hai informed that as of 6 pm on March 2, the southern metropolis recorded 539,836 cases of Covid-19 announced by the Ministry of Health, including 538,902 cases in the community, 934 people from foreign countries.
Chief of Office of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai says HCMC tries to overcome peak of coronavirus wave in next fortnight (Photo: SGGP)
Currently, around 4,576 patients are being treated in medical facilities including 305 children under 16 years old, 58 critically ill patients on ventilators, seven patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
On March 2, there were 879 hospitalizations and 549 recoveries, and two deaths. So far, medical workers have administered 8,117,846 first doses as of March 2 while 7,343,044 city dwellers have got their second doses and other 674,046 people got their additional doses and another 4,082,382 people got their boosters.
Head of Ideological Politics Division under Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training Trinh Duy Trong said that the unit has coordinated with the Department of Health to direct and guide educational institutions to try their best in organizing direct teaching activities at educational institutions as well as strengthening the control of the Covid-19 epidemic in the context of the very complicated Covid-19 epidemic in these facilities.
In addition, educational institutions must organize both face-to-face and online teaching to ensure learning for students who can’t go to school in person.
Mr. Trong also said that now educational institutions have statutory regulations on treating students infected with the coronavirus and their close contacts. Specifically, in case that an infected student is discovered in a class, the local health center and the educational institution where the infected learner is studying will work together to trace close contacts.
Deputy Executive Director of the municipal Center for Disease Control (HCDC) Nguyen Hong Tam said that the Department of Health has prepared a vaccination plan for children aged 5-11. Accordingly, all children from 5 to under 12 years old living and studying in Ho Chi Minh City are vaccinated.
It is expected that 970,000 children will include three groups. Children who go to school will receive vaccine shots at schools. Children who do not attend classes will be taken to injection sites arranged by people's committees of districts, Thu Duc city, and the list will be provided by the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs. Children being treated at medical facilities will get the vaccine shots at the infirmary.
