HCMC – The authority of HCMC will step up patrols to enforce social distancing rules and penalize people who flout the rules by not wearing face masks or not keeping a minimum distance of two meters from one another, heard attendees at a web conference on April 9.
The city’s steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control held the conference on April 9, discussing issues related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Addressing the meeting, Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the HCMC Health Department, said that there has been a rise in the number of people found disregarding public health directions and holding large gatherings, especially in public places and markets, amid signs of the pandemic’s spread slowing in the country.
Binh demanded that district-level authorities in charge of Covid-19 infection prevention and control intensify enforcement measures for people caught breaking social distancing rules.
Le Thanh Liem, vice chairman of the municipal government, said that the city has kept the coronavirus outbreak under control, but everyone is urged to maintain social distancing practices. Full compliance with the nationwide shelter-in-place order and public health directions is desperately needed to limit the spread of the virus, Liem noted.
The vice chairman added that the city has issued fines worth around VND500 million on nearly 2,500 people for not wearing face masks in public places.
The competent forces set up 62 checkpoints at entrances to the city, examined 81,000 vehicles and checked the body temperatures of 110,000 people. As a result, 60 were found to have a high body temperature, while one person was suspected of being infected with the flu-like virus.
To date, the southern city has reported 54 coronavirus cases, with 37 having recovered while the remaining cases are still active. No fresh cases have been recorded in the first six days of the social distancing campaign, starting from April 1.
Also, of the total 12,000 people placed in quarantine, the remaining 600 are expected to complete the mandatory quarantine period on April 14, Liem said.
Further, the city has brought under control the situation at Buddha Bar in District 2, one of the nation’s largest infection hotspots. Over 4,100 people linked to the Buddha Bar infection cluster tested negative for the deadly virus, while 32 others are awaiting their results.
