As the next 10 days are decisive for Vietnam to push back the Covid-19, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has required government agencies and localities to take more drastic actions and deploy resources to keep the people safe.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the meeting. Photo: VGP.

Vietnam’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic is intensifying with growing infection cases, deaths and localities hit by the pandemic, Mr. Phuc said at a government meeting on August 7.

However, local authorities should remain calm to work out more efficient solutions to cope with the pandemic, Mr. Phuc suggested.

Never before has the public health sector faced such a major challenge, requiring greater responsibility from the Ministry of Health to experts and health systems at grassroots level, Mr. Phuc noted.

The prime minister requested government agencies to continue meeting demands in the Covid-19 fight in terms of resources and personnel, especially in Danang, the country’s pandemic epicenter.

According to Mr. Phuc, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are large cities with high population density, thus strong measures are needed to prevent any possible outbreak.

Mr. Phuc asked central and local governments to raise alert against Covid-19 and encouraged the use of information technology in response to Covid-19.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said the ongoing Covid-19 resurgence is more infectious and complicated compared than the first wave.

Mr. Long added the serial interval for Covid-19 virus is estimated to be five to seven days and the basic reproduction number at hospitals is five, meaning that each existing infection can cause five new ones.

Compared to the speed of transmission of Danang General Hospital, one of major Covid-19 clusters in Danang, and Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Mr. Long said the new strain of coronavirus in Danang is more dangerous.

The acting minister said Covid-19 infections in Danang have been acquired from more diversified environments, with the most common being among family members, close acquaintances, and large gatherings, including funerals, weddings, among others.

Worryingly, there were also new infections detected at bus stations, schools, companies and health facilities, Mr. Long stated, adding the number of cases infected within families are of the highest rate.

To date, authorities have confirmed 78 Covid-19 cases in 27 families, significantly higher than the previous period with only two families.

Meanwhile, as Vietnamese people often live in multi-generational homes, the infection risk to elderly, children is considerably high, Long warned, with the infection rate in children is 2.7% and people aged 60 and over is 30.6%.