HCM City steps up surveillance of COVID-19 transmission sources

HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Health should continue to
thoroughly check and risks in the community, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said at a meeting
with the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Phong told the meeting on August 10 that hospitals
must comply with the Ministry of Health’s regulations on safe hospitals.
They should pay attention to safety for patients aged more than 60 and
to those who have underlying disease such as chronic kidney
failure or cancer. Steps should also be taken to prevent COVID-19
from breaking out in their facility.

Home-based
services for patients aged more than 60 should
start again, he added.

The
department was asked to give more tests to high-risk groups such
as drivers, receptionists, and traders at wholesale markets.

Phong
said the department would work with the people’s committee in district 8 to conduct surveillance at Binh Dien wholesale market where 10,000-20,000
people enter and leave daily.

He also required the department
to conduct surveillance to prevent the spread of dengue fever, hand, foot
and mouth disease, and diphtheria.

Other
departments and relevant agencies should strictly follow criteria and
regulations about disease prevention and control, he added.

The
Department of Health said the city has so far reported 71 COVID-19
patients and one patient transferred from Bac Lieu Hospital. Of these, 62 have recovered and
are free of COVID-19. The rest are being treated at the city’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Cu Chi COVID-19 Treatment Hospital.

The
city has also recorded two patients who have tested positive for
SARS-CoV-2 again. They have been quarantined and are being treated at the Cu Chi Treatment Hospital.

Of
the people who have returned from Da Nang, 51,337 have completed health
declaration forms as of August 10. Of these, 45,019 have been tested; 43,414
have tested negative for  SARS-CoV-2; and six people have
tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

On
August 13 and 14, three flights will bring 625 tourists who have been stranded in Da Nang to
HCM City-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Of these, 438
people are from HCM City. The city will place
them under quarantine after they arrive at the aiport.

Five
days after the city began imposing a fine on people not wearing masks
in public, the city has fined 841 violators./.