Hanoi told to stay highly alert to COVID-19

Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on November 2 urged Hanoi to stay highly alert as the COVID-19 pandemic has already "penetrated very deeply into the community".

At a meeting with local official about the pandemic combat, Deputy PM Dam, who is also deputy head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said the city must flexibly but also safely adapt to the pandemic, so it still has to stay ready for worse cases.

Particularly, the principles set out at the start of the COVID-19 fight, which is "prevention, detection, quarantine, sealing off, curbing transmission, and early treatment", remains unchanged, he noted.

He asked Hanoi to prepare standard procedures for home quarantine and treatment in case the coronavirus spreads on a large scale.

Regarding school reopening, the Deputy PM requested that local authorities consider gradually resuming in-person teaching and learning activities based on people's demand.

Once accepting to living with COVID-19, the entire health monitoring system, including schools and health establishments, must raise their pandemic alert to a higher level compared to the past, according to the official.

Reporting on the local COVID-19 situation, Director of the municipal Health Department Tran Thi Nhi Ha said the pandemic in Hanoi is currently under control, but the virus transmission from localities with complex pandemic developments remains a risk.

Hanoi has administered 9,664,917 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to local residents. About 92.3 percent of the people aged 18 and above have been given at least one shot, accounting for 69.4 percent of its total population. Meanwhile, 55.4 percent of the people in the age group, or 41.6 percent, have been fully vaccinated.

At the meeting, Vice Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Phong said Hanoi will build a COVID-19 response plan at a higher level than the current one and devise appropriate measures to manage infection cases and those having close contact with them in accordance with the city’s situation./.

VNA