HCMC – Reopening the economy of HCMC remains a pressing issue, in addition to efforts to bring the pandemic under control, reduce Covid-19 infections and deaths, said Phan Van Mai, new chairman of the municipal government.
Right after his election to the chairmanship of the southern city, he announced the city’s upcoming plans at a press briefing yesterday, August 24, especially a plan to revive the city’s economy and cope with the pandemic which would not be over anytime soon.
Mai said that he would direct the competent forces to study and come up with a roadmap to help the economy recover and live with Covid.
According to the city’s leader, the city is set to bring the latest Covid resurgence under control by September 15, which means that the city’s Covid infections and deaths must be slowed and reduced. He added that the number of Covid-free zones should be increased, thus cutting the number of high-risk areas.
The chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee, Phan Van Mai, forecast that the pandemic could linger on until the end of the year or even till the beginning of next year. In many countries, including those with high Covid vaccination rates, the virus continues to spread.
Once local residents are fully vaccinated and show no signs of being infected with Covid, the city will reopen services gradually. Therefore, the resumption of the municipal economy must depend on the outcome of Covid infection prevention and control.
Moreover, reopening manufacturing, business activities and services must be done ensuring safety and not affect anti-virus activities. The city will prioritize allowing essential services to reopen, followed by the operations of important sectors. In areas that manage to control the pandemic, business activities would be allowed to resume soon, Mai said.
Aside from restoring the economy, the chairman also asserted that the city will focus on taking care of local residents and ensuring the implementation of social welfare policies during the execution of the stay-at-home mandate.
