HCMC – The Ministry of Health has been assigned to prepare a master plan about Covid prevention and control, with a focus on Covid vaccination, testing, and treatment, so that Vietnam could return to a new normal next year.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh gave the Health Ministry this task at a Covid-related meeting on September 11.
PM Chinh said localities nationwide need to be watchful over the possibility of new outbreaks as the Covid fight has recorded some positive results, and avoid being hasty in resuming production and business operations without thorough preparations.
The Government leader asked the Health Ministry to issue guidelines on easing mobility restrictions and resuming socioeconomic activities on the conditions that reopening must be carried out step by step under a roadmap and requires regular assessments to make timely adjustments. The ministry also has to make more efforts to prepare Covid vaccines for 2022 as well as the vaccine for children.
The prime minister has repeated his viewpoint on living with Covid over the past time.
At the Government’s regular meeting on September 5, he said Vietnam needs to map out ways to live with the Covid-19 pandemic in the fields of transportation, travel, production, and services, once the country meets its vaccination target.
Speaking at a meeting with healthcare experts late last month, the Government leader said Vietnam’s goal is to slow the spread of the disease, work out measures to adapt to the pandemic and reduce the fatality rate through vaccination and medication.
Back to yesterday’s meeting, Chinh said that among 23 provinces and cities that have been following the stay-at-home mandate, eight have brought the latest Covid outbreak under control, 12 are on their way to realize the target of slowing the spread of the coronavirus. HCMC and Binh Duong Province, which have been hit hardest by the latest wave, have made lots of efforts and the Covid situation in these two localities is gradually improving.
He added that the top priority in the upcoming period is to reduce the number of new Covid deaths and contain new outbreaks. He called for public-private collaboration in the Covid fight, testing, quarantine, vaccination, and treatment.
The Ministry of Information and Communications was tasked with guiding the launch of digital platforms to aid the Covid fight and developing an app integrating all Covid-related information for all local people to use.
