Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee: Strictly handle cases of false declaration and failure to quarantine according to regulations

On the afternoon of June 29, under the chairmanship of Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control held a meeting to discuss solutions for epidemic prevention and control in the coming time, especially in Vinh City.

Overview of the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Photo: Pham Bang

96 COVID-19 INFECTION CASES RECORDED

Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Director of the Department of Health said that from June 13 to now, the province has recorded 96 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 10 localities. Of which, Vinh City has the most with 61 cases. There are currently 4 outbreaks in the province, but the most concerning is the outbreak at Vinh wholesale market. Since the first case on June 22, the whole province has recorded a total of26 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection are related to this outbreak.

Through screening from June 1 to present, the province has 6,232 cases of trading/coming/returning from Vinh wholesale market in 16 districts and cities. Of these, 558 cases have been quarantined in a centralized manner, 5,694 cases have been quarantined at home. Samples have been taken from 5,707 cases, 676 of which were negative. However, there are still many cases that have not been declared, such as the case discovered at the Provincial General Hospital.

Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Director of the Department of Health reported on the developments of the epidemic and proposed new measures in disease prevention and control. Photo: Pham Bang

Analyzing the wholesale market outbreak in depth, the Director of the Department of Health said that the epidemiological risk at this outbreak is very high, about 2/5 of the detected cases have symptoms, the remaining 3/5 are asymptomatic. Therefore, there are still many F0s in the community that have not been detected.

The Director of the Department of Health said that there are still limitations in the investigation and tracing work at the grassroots level and there are signs of cross-infection in the quarantine area in recent days. In addition, through practical assessment, it is necessary to re-study the screening and testing of large numbers of communities to detect Covid-19 cases.

Speaking at the meeting, Colonel Pham The Tung - Director of the Provincial Police proposed to assign the police force of communes and wards to check each house and each person to see if they have traded or gone to wholesale markets from June 1 to June 23. At the same time, stricter management must be carried out in concentrated quarantine areas, and localities should set up hotlines for people to provide information related to the Covid-19 epidemic.

Colonel Pham The Tung - Director of the Provincial Police Department spoke at the meeting. Photo: Pham Bang

Regarding the handling of cases of false declarations, the Director of the Provincial Police Department said that there are still difficulties in terms of regulations; if cases cannot be handled criminally, they must be handled administratively. Vinh City Police need to be more strict and decisive with those who do not comply with social distancing regulations according to Directive 16 because currently the number of people in Vinh City going out is very large.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long requested local Party committees and authorities in the province to focus on tracing cases related to wholesale markets with the viewpoint of "going to every alley, knocking on every door, checking every subject".

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long spoke at the meeting. Photo: Pham Bang

Regarding Vinh City, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested to focus on tracing work, directing members of the Standing Committee and Executive Committee to go to the locality to direct this work. Any locality that misses a subject and later tests positive must take responsibility.

TOTAL FORCE TO TRACE CASES RELATED TO WHOLESALE MARKETS

Concluding the meeting, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung assessed that in the past time, sectors and localities have made great efforts, quickly and resolutely implemented measures to prevent and combat the Covid-19 epidemic. Initially, there have been positive results, but the Covid-19 epidemic is still very complicated. Therefore, we must continue to perfect solutions to be able to control the Covid-19 epidemic soon.

Going into the measures, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized that regarding the work of tracing, investigating, and screening subjects related to infected cases, especially related to sources of infection, according to the assessment of the health sector, the most complicated issue is the outbreak at the wholesale market.

“We must do more, must focus highly on screening and tracing cases related to the wholesale market outbreak. Because there are still many missing cases, many cases that have not been fully declared, especially since there are still F0 cases in the community,” said the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, adding that we must promote the responsibility of the tracing team, in combination with the community Covid team. We must specifically screen each locality, neighborhood, and residential area with the spirit of “going to every alley, knocking on every door”, especially in Vinh City.

Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Duc Trung concluded at the meeting. Photo: Pham Bang

In addition to this task, localities also need to coordinate with tracing cases related to other cases, and reviewing cases returning from other localities. This work must be done urgently, decisively, and in the fastest time. For Vinh City, this work should be completed by tomorrow (June 30).

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also said that in the past, the province and localities have allocated a large amount of resources, human resources, and material resources for measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic. However, in the coming time, these measures must be recalculated to be more suitable to the actual situation and the capacity of the locality.

This work must be carried out in the direction of wide zoning but narrow blockade, with focus and key points, ensuring more appropriate zoning, selecting the right subjects for testing to ensure effectiveness. Sectors must coordinate closely with localities to come up with reasonable zoning plans.

Vinh City locked down a residential area in Hung Binh ward. Photo: Quang An

In the actual situation of the number of F1 cases becoming F0 in quarantine areas, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee said that the risk of cross-infection in concentrated quarantine areas is very high, especially in Vinh City, especially given the current rapid spread of the epidemic. For concentrated quarantine areas, the general principle is to ensure all conditions are met.

However, it is also necessary to study the Ministry of Health's guidelines to proactively develop a pilot plan for F1 subjects to quarantine at home. However, to implement this solution, the role of the government, police, and community Covid Team is very important in reviewing, monitoring, managing, and signing commitments.

For families wishing to quarantine at a paid centralized quarantine area, it is necessary to clearly state that they must pay the fee and meet the quarantine conditions. Families who do not have the conditions must quarantine at other locations. If there is a cross-infection situation at the centralized quarantine area, the specific responsibilities of the organizations and units must be clarified.

Quarantine area at College of Economics and Digital Technology 1. Photo: Pham Bang

The head of the Provincial People's Committee requested the Public Security sector to strictly handle cases of not declaring health status, making false declarations, and not implementing quarantine as prescribed. Officials, civil servants, and public employees in state agencies must first set an example; if they do not comply, they must be strictly handled to set an example and serve as a deterrent.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee requested strict control in the locked-down areas. If it is done well in this locality, it can be relaxed in other areas. Continue to carry out propaganda work well to raise people's awareness. Vinh City specifically assigned the Chairmen of the People's Committees of communes and wards to announce hotline numbers for people to provide information about the epidemic situation, especially providing information about cases at risk of infection./.