Community-based COVID-19 prevention teams work hard during pandemic

A member of a community-based COVID-19 prevention team visit a household to record individuals’ health conditions in Cẩm Giàng District. suckhoedoisong.vn

HẢI DƯƠNG — Three times a day, members of COVID-19 prevention teams in Cẩm Giàng District visit every house in every hamlet to check people's temperature and record those who have symptoms of fevers or coughs to timely detect suspected COVID-19 cases.

The members, who are mostly hamlet officers or volunteers, also tell people about COVID-19 prevention and control measures as well as the latest policies of central and local governments to tackle the disease.

Cẩm Giàng District in the northern province of Hải Dương is now under lockdown for having had more than 60 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Other COVID-19 hot spots in the province are Kinh Môn, Nam Sách and Kim Thành districts and Hải Dương and Chi Linh cities. Within a month time, more than 600 locally-transmitted infections have been reported in the province.

Trần Như Dương, Deputy Director National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, who led the institute’s task force sent to Hải Dương Province, said timely detecting people with typical symptoms of COVID-19 would help a lot in curbing infections and treating patients.

"The establishment of COVID-19 prevention teams based every hamlet is an effective strategical measure for the virus-hit area," Dương said.

Phạm Xuân Thăng, the secretariat of the provincial Party Committee, asked for improved performance of community-based COVID-19 prevention teams.

He said that the teams were the expanded hands of authorities and the healthcare system, reaching every household and individual.

In Cẩm Giang District alone, 764 community-based COVID-19 prevention teams have been set up with the participation of 1,537 members.

Nguyễn Văn Khoái, head of Đào Xá Hamlet, said the hamlet had five COVID-19 prevention teams to cover 420 households.

"In the rain or under the heat, three times a day, we visit every household in the hamlet," Khoái said.

He said that in some cases, the teams found some residents with a fever and cough, so they were instructed to submit health declarations and get tested for SARS-CoV-2.

Khoái said those who were found not following disease prevention and control measures would be named via the hamlet's loudspeaker.

Nguyễn Văn Hùng, 70 years old, of Đào Xá Commune, said thanks to members of the hamlet's COVID-19 prevention team, he now remembered disease prevention and control measures.

"We are now not taking morning exercises in public places. We also store food for a few days to limit going out," he said.

Nguyễn Quang Huy, a member of the COVID-19 prevention team of Thu Lãng Hamlet in Ngọc Liên Commune, Cẩm Giàng District, said when families were set to have dinner, they still did their job – calling on every house, recording people's temperature, asking about their health conditions and reminding them about preventive measures.

The hamlet was home to many workers working in industrial zones, so Huy's team made a separate list to monitor them easily, he said.

He said that people were willing to co-operate with the teams and some residents had reported those with health problems or who had violated disease prevention and control regulations.

Head of Cẩm Giàng District Party Committee's Publicity Committee Nguyễn Văn Công said the COVID-19 prevention team members were enthusiastic people.

"Whenever being informed about people with health problems in their neighbourhood, they are willing to go to offer help for both the locals and health officers," he said.

The teams helped inspect and recommend fines of more than VNĐ92 million to those who violated disease prevention and control regulations in the district, Công said, adding that common violations included not wearing face masks, doing exercises outdoors or littering used face masks. — VNS