Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – The Ministry of Health believed the COVID-19 situation is still
unpredictable due to the risk of more new dangerous virus variants, and
countries must continue working to strengthen their surveillance systems.
Phan Trong Lan, Director
of the under the , said
globally, the COVID-19 situation is still complicated, and immunity gained
has been reduced over time.
Meanwhile, is
constantly mutating with new variants and sub-variants that can spread more
quickly and avoid the immune system.
The Emergency Committee
of the WHO still holds meetings every three months to review the global
situation and make recommendations to member countries.
At its latest meeting on October 13, the committee said the
COVID-19 pandemic was still happening worldwide and advised countries to
strengthen their monitoring systems, expand treatment capacities and vaccine
coverage, and update national plans for coping with COVID, Lan said.
He said if Vietnam was to announce the pandemic is over, there
might be several challenges.
Firstly, if a dangerous COVID-19 strain arises and it reduces the
effectiveness of vaccination or avoids the immune system, it is likely to cause
more severe cases and deaths, which could overload the capabilities of the
medical system.
Secondly, the mobilisation of society sections at all levels to
fight the virus would no longer receive the level of attention needed. As a
result, people may get complacent, and it would be difficult to reactivate
administrative measures to prevent and control the pandemic.
Lan added that in the past, with the development of the pandemic,
authorities have loosened measures as in the previous period so that society
can live ‘normally’, people can travel and production can resume.
Specifically, the authorities have stopped medical
declaration, stopped the isolation of people on entry and having contact with
COVID-19 patients, expanding home treatment. In addition, the zoning of the
outbreak is carried out in the smallest possible scope.
However, if the pandemic resurges in any localities, strict
prevention measures will be quickly applied again to prevent the effect on the
whole society, he said./.
Source: VietnamPlus
