DIRECTIVE

ON ENHANCEMENT OF COVID-19 PREVENTION AND CONTROL MEASURES IN HO CHI MINH CITY

From April 27, 2021 to date, HCMC has recorded 1.346 cases with multiple infection chains. The most noticeable characteristic of this wave is the highly infectious Delta strain that spreads among families, residential areas and workplaces, especially office buildings, apartment buildings and frozen food manufacturing facilities. The spread of the disease from the family to the workplace and from the workplace to the home has increased the speed and extent of infection in HCMC. Infected cases are present in the community and some cases were detected via screening in healthcare facilities, meaning that the disease is quietly developing in the community alongside known infection chains.

In the upcoming time, the pandemic will continue to progress unpredictably with the number of daily cases reaching 03 digits, cases with unclear infection sources as well as many community cases.

To promptly control COVID-19 in HCMC and return to normal life, Chairperson of HCMC People’s Committee requests heads of ministries and Chairpersons of People's Committees of Thu Duc City and districts to take the following key measures:

1. Properly follow directions given by HCMC People's Committee in Official Dispatch No. 1749/UBND-VX dated May 30, 2021, Official Dispatch No. 1931/UBND-VX dated June 14, 2021 and Official Dispatch No. 1948/UBND-VX dated June 16, 2021 and adopt the following measures:

- Suspend all non-essential services and operation of impromptu markets.

- Do not form groups of more than 03 people in public outside office buildings, schools or hospitals and properly comply with the 5K requirements of the Ministry of Health; keep a distance of at least 1,5 m in public spaces; increase strict handling of violations against regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control. Chairpersons of People’s Committees of Thu Duc City and districts shall take responsibility before HCMC People’s Committee if there is any group of more than 03 people in public outside an office buildings, school or hospital.

- Request people to go out only where strictly necessary such as for buying food or medicines or emergency aid; Department of Health shall provide guidance for working in factories and other cases. All people are recommended to comply with COVID-19 prevention and control requirements and actively make health declaration to protect themselves and their families.

- Providers of essential goods and services and factories may continue to operate but must ensure that their workers keep a safe distance of at least 1,5 m and wear face masks in the workplace and their facilities are disinfected and well ventilated. Heads of enterprises and goods and service providers shall take responsibility for adoption of measures against COVID-19 in their facilities and protection of worker’s health. People’s Committees of Thu Duc City and districts shall increase inspection of COVID-19 prevention and control in traditional markets in areas under their management; suspend operation of traditional markets failing to comply with COVID-19 prevention and control requirements.

- State agencies and units shall ensure safe distancing in their operations; companies, enterprises and corporations, including foreign-invested companies, are encouraged to minimize in-person activities, switch to online working, only visit their workplaces for strictly essential matters and comply with the 5K requirements of the Ministry of Health completely.

- Stop all non-essential meetings. Where it is necessary to hold meetings and events, maximum 10 people may stay in one room, unless they are extremely important meetings permitted by the local government and in compliance with the 5K requirements of the Ministry of Health.

2. Place areas at very high risk and high risk under quarantine to keep the situation under control.

3. State units and agencies shall direct their officials, public employees and workers to work from home; only those in charge of essential operations such as on-call shifts, COVID-19 control shifts, essential goods provision, confidential document handling and other necessary duties may work at their workplaces.

Heads of regulatory bodies and units have the power to decide number of workers working at the workplace, which shall not exceed half of the total number of workers, to ensure fulfillment of their duties and directions of HCMC government; armed forces and healthcare workers shall work at 100% capacity. Heads of regulatory bodies and units shall assign officials, public employees and workers participating in COVID-19 prevention and control as appropriate.

Heads of regulatory bodies and units shall assign tasks based on their work programs to ensure fulfillment of their 2021 duties.

Promote processing of documents via level-3 and level-4 online public services; temporarily stop receiving documents from people and enterprises directly (excluding special cases decided by head of each regulatory body and unit).

Leaders shall take responsibility before Chairperson of HCMC People’s Committee if they fail to fulfill their duties and take responsibility for officials and workers infected with COVID-19 due to improper compliance with COVID-19 safety regulations in their workplaces.

4. Department of Transport shall:

- Suspend road and inland waterway public transit, minimize people’s movements according to directions of HCMC People’s Committee.

- Transport of food, essential products, workers, experts and production materials may continue but must ensure COVID-19 prevention.

- Cooperate with HCMC Federation of Labor in providing guidance on and supervising worker transport in factories in accordance with recommendations of the healthcare sector.

5. Department of Health shall:

- Provide detailed guidelines for the other cases mentioned in Section 1 herein.

- Improve testing capacity, including targeted large-scale screening and sample collection in areas at high risk (export-processing zones, industrial parks and hi-tech parks); cooperate with health authorities of HCMC and central units stationed in HCMC in testing via different measures, striving for 500.000 samples per day.

- Enhance inspection and supervision of prevention and control of infection in healthcare facilities and quarantined areas and testing.

- Increase tracing, hotspot identification and elimination and testing in areas at high risk to detect and end infection sources; perform rapid screening tests in areas with new cases and have close contacts of new cases undergo confirmatory testing after rapid test results are available.

- Promptly purchase medical equipment, especially ventilators, patient monitors, transfusion machines and hemofiltration machines, to ensure that healthcare facilities have sufficient medical equipment for emergency aid and treatment.

- Formulate plans and scenarios and build capacity for response to emergency COVID-19 situations and reporting to HCMC People's Committee; expand centralized quarantine areas of HCMC.

- Accelerate vaccination plans, ensuring that they are on schedule, vaccines are given to intended recipients and safety in the fight against the disease is maintained.

- Department of Health shall take charge and cooperate with Department of Information and Communications in employing a COVID-19 vaccination management system.

6. Department of Information and Communications shall:

- Boost communications activities to raise the awareness of HCMC residents towards protecting their health.

- Establish a technology working group with the participation of Department of Health; cooperate with the national technology center for COVID-19 prevention and control in advising on measures for application of information technology in COVID-19 prevention and control in HCMC.

- Increase application of measures for management of electronic health declarations and epidemiological investigation by QR codes.

- Advise on adoption of information technology measures in supervision of persons subject to quarantine at home.

- Advise on procedures for receipt of people’s reports on violations against COVID-19 safety regulations using technological measures and transfer of these reports to local governments for handling as quickly as possible.

- Provide instructions on use of technology for working from home for officials, public employees and workers of regulatory bodies and units.

- Strictly handle provision and sharing of false news that cause public confusion or affect the fight against COVID-19 in HCMC.

7. Department of Industry and Trade shall:

- Ensure provision of essential goods to people in all situations; carry out online shopping, home delivery and safe distancing in supermarkets.

- Cooperate with Department of Health in providing guidance on handling, disinfection, quarantine, change to working shifts and groups and requirements for business locations whose operation is suspended due to confirmed cases to resume their operation promptly.

8. Police forces of HCMC, Thu Duc City and districts shall:

Increase directions for protection of public order and security, crime prevention, and strict handling of violations against regulations on public order and security and COVID-19 prevention and control.

9. Department of Labor - War Invalids and Social Affairs shall:

Check and arrange for homeless and helpless persons to live in social support centers for the purpose of COVID-19 prevention and control.

10. HCMC High Command shall cooperate with Department of Health in arranging and expanding centralized quarantine areas in HCMC.

11. HCMC Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations shall cooperate with regulatory bodies in encouraging the people to adopt measures against the disease and taking care of vulnerable persons, ensuring social security.

Heads of ministries and Chairpersons of People's Committees of Thu Duc City and districts shall urgently perform the tasks stated in this Directive; take responsibility before Chairperson of HCMC People’s Committee if there is any person not complying with regulations in areas under their management; and promptly report difficulties./.

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