A medical worker collects sample for COVID-19 testing from a resident in HCM City (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) –
Concerned about the Omicron variant, is boosting actions to
keep COVID-19 under control as the (Tet) holiday, the biggest
traditional festival in Vietnam, is nearing.
To enter Vietnam, people currently
have to show a negative RT-PCR test result for SARS-CoV-2 within 72 hours prior
to their arrival, along with a negative rapid test result before and after their
flights.
Besides this, the
city’s centre for disease control (HCDC) will conduct screening tests in the
areas having many people from aboard or recording a sudden surge in COVID-19
cases, and push ahead with other measures instructed by the Ministry of Health,
HCDC Deputy Director Nguyen Hong Tam told a meeting on January 17.
Though the pandemic is being
put under control in HCM City, people returning to the city after Tet, which
falls in the first week of February, still need to comply with the 5K principle
(khau trang – wearing face masks, khu khuan – disinfection, khai bao – making health
declaration, khoang cach – keeping physical distance, khong tu tap – no
gathering).
Only those with symptoms or suspected factors will undergo testing and quarantine when
coming back to the city, Tam said.
Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, Chief
of the Office of the municipal Health Department, said as the variant
poses a risk of COVID-19 resurgence, the department has asked local hospitals
to ready personnel for anti-pandemic activities within 24 hours once it
reactivates temporary hospitals for treatment.
The city is providing
treatment for 3,631 patients at present, including 75 under 16. Among them,
270 require mechanical ventilation and 17 others need life support (ECMO).
The daily numbers of hospitalised
cases and fatalities have been dropping gradually, from 275 cases and 19 deaths
on January 12 to 123 cases and 12 deaths on January 16, according to the HCM
City steering committee for COVID-19 fight and economic recovery./.
Source: VietnamPlus
