HCMC – The HCMC government today, August 20, announced that it will tighten its anti-pandemic measures and ban local residents from leaving their homes from August 23.
At a meeting of the municipal steering committee for Covid-19 infection prevention and control today, Pham Duc Hai, deputy head of the steering committee, said although the city has taken multiple aggressive measures during the social distancing period, the number of new daily cases remains high. Moreover, the cases detected in the community have soared, the local media reported.
Therefore, the city will tighten its anti-coronavirus measures, focusing on five main solutions.
Specifically, residents must comply with the social distancing regulations. The city will continue isolating homes from homes, quarters from quarters and wards from wards.
In addition, the city will focus on the treatment of Covid-19 cases in critical condition to reduce deaths. Testing in extremely-high-risk areas and vaccination will be boosted to reduce transmission.
HCMC will ensure the sufficient supply of essential goods for residents and promptly support the disadvantaged in the city.
Locals must comply with anti-pandemic measures and should not stock up on food and other products
Phan Nguyen Nhu Khue, head of the HCMC Party Committee’s Board for Propaganda and Education, said these measures will help effectively carry out the directives of the central Government, the city’s Party Committee and government.
These measures can be applied from August 23 as the central Government has told the city to bring the pandemic under control before September 15.
Specific plans will be announced once completed, Khue said, adding that at that time, the city will announce groups of people allowed to go out, the supply of goods to residential areas and the operation of pop-up healthcare stations.
Khue denied rumors that the entire city would be put on lockdown, saying that it will just strengthen its anti-pandemic measures.
During the fourth Covid-19 wave, HCMC has imposed a series of social distancing orders with increasing levels.
Specifically, the city practiced social distancing under the prime minister’s Directive 15 from May 31 to June 14, employed the municipal government’s Directive 10 from June 15 to July 7 and practiced social distancing in line with the prime minister’s Directive 16 since July 9.
The city has also banned residents from going out between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. and suspended nonessential services after 6 p.m.
However, the number of people on the streets in the city remains high and Covid-19 cases caused by community transmission make up an increasing proportion of the new cases. On August 19, 3,603 cases were found to be community infections, accounting for 82% of the city’s total new cases, while new cases in the previous days were mainly in residential areas on lockdown.
