Center for disease and control prevention

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on Tuesday applauded Vietnam’s achievements in its fight against COVID-19 while also stressing a high likelihood of future pathogen emergence in the country. Dam’s statements were made during his chairmanship of a meeting of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control. During the meeting, Nguyen Dac Vinh, deputy chief of the Party Central Committee's Office, pointed out that early detection is key to successful epidemic prevention efforts, as seen from the quelling of recent outbreaks at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and in Hai Phong at the end of January. Vinh also emphasized the importance of tactical medical screenings to identify transmission sources and contain the pathogen. He noted that the Ministry of Health should reflect on its contact tracing programs and identify optimal isolation plans in order to inform efforts in other provinces. The upcoming COVID-19 inoculation plan should be rolled out in sync with other epidemic prevention efforts, he added. Meanwhile, Deputy PM Dam pointed out that Vietnam ranked 173rd in the world in terms of patient tallies and 213th on the ratio of COVID-19 cases to population, an impressive achievement considering the relatively low cost that the country spent on COVID-19 prevention. “With all due humility, it can be said that Vietnam is ranked one of the most successful countries in the world when it comes to COVID-19 prevention," he said. "For that reason, we must stay loyal to the principles and strategies that were employed in the early days.” According to Dam, those strategies involve five steps: prevention, detection, isolation, eradication, and treatment, all of which have been maintained through different phases of the epidemic. Large-scale testing Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son asked that Hai Duong Province, the country’s current COVID-19 epicenter, continue its …

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All students in Ho Chi Minh City have been allowed to go back to school in early March as the COVID-19 pandemic has been put under control again in the southern metropolis. The municipal People’s Committee on Wednesday issued a document stating that students and learners of local schools, universities, and other educational institutions will resume their normal classes on March 1. The city’s Department of Education and Training and Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs will provide local schools with guidance on pandemic prevention and control measures. Students who have been to virus-hit areas will be required to fill out health declaration forms. Stern penalties will be imposed upon those failing to declare their health status or violating rules on COVID-19 prevention and control. All students, teachers, and other staff members will have to complete online health declaration on a daily basis. Following the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, all students were required to switch to remote learning until the end of the month due to the complicated COVID-19 developments. The city recorded 36 community-based COVID-19 cases between February 6 and 11. A total of 35 locations in 10 districts and Thu Duc City were sealed off to prevent the disease from spreading further into the community. As of Tuesday afternoon, lockdown had been lifted from all of these locations. The municipal Department of Education and Training on the same day proposed that all students be allowed to return to school on March 1. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! …

[Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City students to resume school in early March

HCM City and six other provinces and cities are planning to reopen schools on March 1, according to the Ministry of Education and Training, after a two-week delay to the scheduled resumption when Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday ends mid-February. A health worker sprays disinfectants at Nguyen Du High School in HCM City’s District 10. — VNA/VNS Photo Thu Huong Hanoi could reopen schools on Tuesday (March 2) if the COVID-19 situation is under control (March 2 will be the date marking 14 days of no local infections), according to municipal authorities. The HCM City People’s Committee on Wednesday approved the Department of Education and Training’s proposal to reopen on Monday since the recent COVID-19 outbreak has been well controlled. The department said most parents want their children to go to school. To prepare for the reopening, the administration has called for disinfecting schools and adopting preventive measures. This week the department will ensure these tasks are undertaken at all schools. It also has instructed schools to ensure their students follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: Khẩu trang (face mask) – Khử khuẩn (disinfection) – Khoảng cách (distance) – Không tụ tập (no gathering) – Khai báo y tế (health declaration). Since February 2 the department has ordered schools to report about students with COVID-19, F1 people who come into contact with patients and F2 people who have close contact with F1. The parents of all students also need to fill out online health declarations for the latter. As of February 19 one student had contracted the disease, 74 teachers and students were designated F1 and 361 teachers and students were F2. Besides, 2,680 teachers and students returned to the city from COVID-19-hit areas around the country after Tet. On February 1 the People’s Committee had instructed all relevant agencies and educational establishments to allow students to remain at home after the Tet holiday and study online …

[Read more...] about HCM City, Hanoi, and five other localities to reopen schools in March