Many provinces have requested an extension of the implementation period for Directive 16.

No further text is needed.

At the meeting on the afternoon of July 28, leaders of provinces and cities stated that they had implemented many measures, taking advantage of the social distancing period under Directive 16 to focus forces on contact tracing and testing in order to quickly contain outbreaks and control the situation. However, many localities expressed concern that the disease situation would continue to be complicated, with more infections and new outbreaks appearing as testing and screening have been intensified in recent days.

In addition, provinces and cities in the Southwestern region of Vietnam are facing immense pressure from the risk of disease outbreaks as tens of thousands of workers, students, and university students return from epidemic areas.

Therefore, many provinces have requested an extension of the implementation period for Directive 16.

Lieutenant General Vo Minh Luong, Deputy Minister of National Defense and Head of the Government's Special Task Force on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, assessed that the disease situation in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces and cities remains complex but is not insurmountable, provided that the people strictly comply with Directive 16 and effectively implement the 5K measures. Ho Chi Minh City has implemented many effective solutions in the past, but their implementation in some districts and counties has not been thorough or highly effective. Forces must strengthen inspections and controls to ensure stricter and more rigorous monitoring of people's movements during the lockdown period.

"Ho Chi Minh City doesn't need any higher-level documents; based on the solutions already proposed, its disease prevention and control activities will be more effective if it can act and handle the situation more thoroughly," Lieutenant General Vo Minh Luong stated.

Major General Le Quoc Hung, Deputy Minister of Public Security, said that he has directed the police forces in all provinces to simultaneously implement various measures to limit people from leaving their homes, strengthen patrols and controls, and strictly handle violations; coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to deploy QR codes and green channel identification systems to facilitate the circulation of goods; and strictly manage vehicles and drivers at goods delivery and receiving points.

The outbreak took longer than expected to be contained.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stated that after 10 days of implementing social distancing measures according to Directive 16/CT-TTg, 19 provinces and cities in the southern region, especially Ho Chi Minh City, have accomplished a tremendous amount of work, which has been strongly supported by the people. However, the epidemic situation remains very complex. While epidemic prevention and control efforts in some localities south of the Hau River, Binh Phuoc, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau have become more systematic and strictly implemented down to the smallest detail, the number of infections has not decreased significantly.

In Ho Chi Minh City and parts of Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, and Long An provinces, the epidemic has spread very widely and deeply. Completely eradicating the outbreak in this area will take longer than expected, possibly even months. The situation in this region differs from many other localities implementing Directive 16 and other localities nationwide. Therefore, recently, ministries, agencies, and the Government's special task force have been working here; visiting the area, understanding the situation, exchanging information, and agreeing with the city on many solutions to adjust to the new situation in Ho Chi Minh City. These solutions are also applied to neighboring areas such as parts of Long An, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong provinces.

The overall goal for the country, and especially for the 19 provinces and cities in the southern region, is to prevent the spread of the disease and reduce the number of COVID-19 cases. Along with reducing COVID-19 cases, Ho Chi Minh City and parts of Long An, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong provinces must also prioritize the most urgent immediate goal: reducing the mortality rate and the number of patients whose condition worsens.

Treatment facilities at different levels, from mild, moderate, severe, very severe, and critical symptoms, must be equipped with more resources and personnel. Each level needs to do its best to reduce the rate of patients whose condition worsens. The Deputy Prime Minister gave an example: asymptomatic COVID-19 cases need to be well cared for both physically and mentally to minimize the rate of developing symptoms. In reality, some places have done well, with this rate below 5%, while others have it around 20-30%.

"The Covid-19 enemy is right at our doorstep."

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the policies and guidelines of the central and local governments are correct and sufficiently strong; however, attention should be paid to the ability to organize their implementation at all levels, especially at the lower levels.

"Talking only about the grassroots level, the communes and wards, is not enough. Now we must talk about each neighborhood, even each residential cluster... they must strictly and thoroughly implement the social distancing goals according to Directive 16. That is the most fundamental solution. Only by strictly implementing social distancing can we slow down the spread of the disease and break the chain of transmission," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

To do this, the Deputy Prime Minister requested all localities to strictly adhere to the motto "go door to door, check every individual," "stay where you are," absolutely no contact between families, and immediately report to the local authorities any cases of people entering or leaving the area.

Sharing his sympathy with the people of Ho Chi Minh City and many other places who have had to implement social distancing for a long time and are facing many inconveniences and difficulties, the Deputy Prime Minister urged: The more difficult the situation becomes, the more we must unite and strive to strictly implement the regulations of the authorities and the guidance of the health sector. "The Covid-19 enemy is right at our doorstep," if we do not strictly comply, we and our loved ones will be affected. When many people are affected, the whole neighborhood, ward, district, province, city will be affected, and the country will be affected.

Furthermore, during the lockdown period, localities must ensure the circulation and distribution of essential goods and implement practical and effective support policies for each individual. "Absolutely no one should be left without the essential necessities of life." Therefore, the Deputy Prime Minister requested a gradual reorganization of the safe and uninterrupted flow of goods for an extended period.

Establish a community health surveillance system.

Strictly implementing Directive 16, the Deputy Prime Minister urged people to stay at home and only go out when absolutely necessary. Given the deep penetration of the epidemic into the community, a smoothly functioning community health monitoring and management system is required. Local authorities, with the health sector as the core, are assigned to monitor and manage health down to the household level and to individual at-risk individuals, ensuring that anyone exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19 or other chronic diseases receives timely medical support.

This must be done urgently, organized at multiple levels, using various means of communication, call centers, or a network of doctors providing remote health consultations. The most direct approach in the area is through organizations that monitor and manage the health of the local population on the ground.

The Deputy Prime Minister agreed with the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City on organizing and completing this task as soon as possible to ensure that people receive timely health management and care.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that, under normal circumstances, many parts of the healthcare system are already overloaded, so it is necessary to ensure the care and treatment of other patients while simultaneously providing multi-tiered treatment for Covid-19.

At this time, we must create the most favorable conditions and provide the most timely encouragement for the medical staff and other forces on the front lines.

Visiting several COVID-19 isolation centers and field hospitals, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said he was deeply moved by the doctors and nurses' constant concern for the people's health; he also urged everyone to strictly adhere to social distancing guidelines, "stay home so they can return home and reunite with their loved ones soon."

Organizations are bringing people back from epidemic areas.

At the meeting, leaders from many provinces and cities stated that they had plans to coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Duong to facilitate the return of people to their hometowns after receiving negative Covid-19 test results; and to prepare centralized quarantine areas…

Leaders of the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs requested that provinces and cities coordinate closely to organize the safe repatriation of people from Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, in reality, when the epidemic in other countries becomes severe, Vietnamese people in those countries want to return home. Similarly, many people working in localities with deep and severe outbreaks (such as Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An) want to return to their hometowns because factories are not yet operating. This is a completely legitimate need, and we have a responsibility to coordinate closely, have detailed and specific plans, make very thorough preparations, and organize the transportation of our compatriots back home thoughtfully and with absolute safety.

Through the Fatherland Front, the government, and hometown associations, provinces and cities are stepping up efforts to educate people about complying with the disease prevention and control requirements of the local authorities where they live; at the same time, they are organizing registration and making public announcements so that people are aware, absolutely preventing situations where, due to the inability to organize such activities, people have to violate regulations to find a way to return home.