HCMC – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered locals from Quang Ninh and Hai Duong not to move out of the provinces to prevent the spread of Covid-19, after Vietnam reported 82 fresh Covid-19 cases via community transmission in these two provinces.
The provinces must actively take drastic measures to conduct screening, contact tracing and testing on a large scale, PM Phuc said at an urgent meeting held on January 28 at the National Convention Center where the 13th National Party Congress is taking place.
Also, measures adopted by the authorities to combat the disease should be made public to help local residents stay updated on the development of the virus and ease public concerns over the resurgence of locally-infected cases, the head of the Government said.
Among the 82 community cases, the ministry had confirmed 72 cases at Poyun Co., Ltd at the Cong Hoa Industrial Park of Cong Hoa Commune, Chi Linh City, Hai Duong Province and 10 others in Quang Ninh Province, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said at the meeting.
In response to the new coronavirus outbreak, the authorities of Hai Duong began implementing social distancing starting 12 p.m today.
After a 34-year-old worker of Poyun Company was confirmed as the country’s 1,552nd Covid-19 patient, the provincial government of Hai Duong teamed up with the Health Ministry to ramp up contact tracing and take samples from 2,340 workers of the firm and those who came into close contact with the patient for testing, Pham Xuan Thang, Party chief of the provincial Party Committee, said on the sidelines of the on-going National Party Congress.
Besides this, Cong Hoa Ward was put under lockdown, while the city of Chi Linh will practice social distancing in line with the prime minister’s Directive 16.
Under Directive 16, the local residents were asked to refrain from going out for non-urgent and non-essential reasons. If they need to venture out for necessities and medical purposes, they must wear face masks and wash their hands regularly. Moreover, gatherings of more than two people in public areas, office buildings, schools and hospitals were also banned.
Other districts in Hai Duong adopted social distancing in accordance with the prime minister’s Directive 15 by stopping large gatherings and inspecting the Covid-19 safety practices of factories in the province, the official said.
Further, starting today, Hai Duong has stopped foreign employees from entering and quarantining at hotels in the province until further notice.
