Vietnam’s top leaders have said that the containment of the fourth Covid-19 outbreak is the country’s first and foremost mission at this time.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Photos: Nhat Bac/VGP

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said the whole political system needs to participate in the fight against Covid-19 in the face that the pandemic is now sweeping 26 cities and provinces with the daily triple-digit infection number.

Local governments must be aware of the seriousness of the pandemic and get well-prepared for the prevention and control without negligence, the PM said at a government meeting on May 10.

“If we do not continue taking rapid and drastic measures while neglecting safety measures, letting down our guard, and remaining reluctant, immeasurable consequences might be far beyond our predictions,” Chinh noted.

The PM demanded the application of updated technology in the fight against Covid-19, asking the Ministry of National Defence to install video-surveillance cameras at important places.

He required more effective cooperation among five ministries namely National Defence, Foreign Affairs, Public Security, and Health in the battle.

He asked the Ministry of Health to make public the Covid-19 vaccine purchase roadmap.

Permanent Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh highlighted the border control and exerting more efforts to quarantine in border areas.

Local governments should be given more support to improve their testing capacity and treatment to make sure that they face no shortcomings in dealing with the pandemic in terms of medical facilities, enough ventilators, oxygen, testing machines, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and drug.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is head of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, asked local authorities to be disciplined in the management and to maintain the 5K (masking – disinfection – distance – no gathering – medical declaration) strategy.

Dam emphasized that each Vietnamese citizen must be responsible for the safety measures, for themselves, for the sake of relatives, and for the community, noting that nobody is safe if the country is unsafe.

He stressed the need to control illegal immigration, keep close watch on people in quarantine zones or medical surveillance to prevent community transmission.

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh urged localities to speed up testing in high risk areas, including industrial parks and hospitals while disseminating the pandemic evolution to calm the public.

Thanh warned the government of financial difficulties that local governments are facing and said it’s necessary to facilitate them in the purchase of medical equipment.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long underscored the role of testing, saying that it’s a key in combating Covid-19, mostly in high risk areas like clinic institutes, wet markets, supermarkets, factories, lodging facilities, and public places.

Long warned that the infections would be soaring in the upcoming days.

The fresh outbreak of coronavirus in Vietnam is predicted to be more infectious due to the UK and Indian variants, which appears to be growing faster than other versions, and multiple transmission sources.

Fresh coronavirus outbreak

On May 10, the number of infected people hit the record high of 125, driving the total to 3,461 at the end of the day.

The pandemic has so far placed many places across the country under lockdown and forced schools in nearly 40 out of 63 cities and provinces closed.

Seriously, Covid-19 has attacked the healthcare system, leaving 10 hospitals isolated, including two national health centers that are leading in treating Covid-19 patients and cancers.

Hanoi is the hardest hit locality by Covid-19 as it is home to the two referral hospitals, the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital (K Hospital). At present, more than 33 places around the city are put on lockdown, spanning more than half of its 30 districts.