Stories about Covid-19 prevention and control in Laos
(Baonghean.vn) - So the last country in Southeast Asia has recorded its first case of Covid-19 infection. However, to survive until now, in addition to objective factors, Laos has proactively taken response measures appropriate to its actual conditions.
Don't be subjective even though it is considered a safe country.
Since the end of February, when the Covid-19 epidemic had spread rapidly in China and many countries around the world, the Lao Government has begun to initiate epidemic prevention work. Witnessed by the World Health Organization (WHO), representatives of embassies and international organizations in Laos at a press conference on the afternoon of March 5, Lao Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Phouthone Muongpak affirmed: Laos has always been transparent in information and closely coordinated with countries and international organizations to deal with the Covid-19 epidemic.
Laos admits that there is a high risk of spreading the Covid-19 epidemic because it has thousands of kilometers of land borders with China, Vietnam and Cambodia; direct flights to these countries; extensive trade, tourism and investment relations; a large number of workers from these countries travel together on roads, air routes, and waterways (with Thailand), especially thousands of Chinese workers working on investment projects in Laos.
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| Measuring body temperature of drivers entering Laos. |
Therefore, from the beginning, Laos has applied 9 measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic according to WHO standards, such as: mobilizing national resources to deal with the epidemic; planning responses in case of detecting Covid-19 patients; implementing a social media campaign to help people understand the epidemic; proposing measures to detect people at risk of infection at international border gates...
The Lao government also established a special task force for epidemic prevention and control headed by a Deputy Prime Minister to direct and coordinate joint work, prevent and respond to the Covid-19 epidemic; allocate budget to buy body temperature checking machines at border gates, buy testing machines for hospitals in provinces or areas with many foreigners living; set up a 24/7 hotline; hold daily press conferences to inform about the Covid-19 epidemic situation in the world, as well as prevention work in the country.
Laos has called on international organizations and countries to provide equipment to help fight the epidemic. Many shipments of essential medical equipment and supplies for epidemic prevention from Japan, China, and the US have been shipped to Laos and immediately delivered to major hospitals and provincial hospitals that are likely to have Covid-19 patients.
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| Friendship Hospital (Mitaphab) - a place to quarantine and treat Covid-19 patients in Laos. |
Along with that, the Lao Government also set up quarantine areas and is ready to receive and treat patients at major hospitals such as Huu Nghi, Setthathilath, Mahosod, and Military Hospital 103. At the same time, it recommends that people self-isolate at home if they have traveled to countries with epidemics.
Faced with the complicated developments of the epidemic, spreading to European countries and the US with hundreds of thousands of infected people and over 10,000 deaths; in neighboring countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, the number of infected cases is also continuously increasing. The Lao Government has decided to raise the prevention level to the highest level. First, it is necessary to close secondary border gates, allow students nationwide to take time off from school, cancel international conferences, cultural and sports events, and festivals with large gatherings, and advise people to simplify weddings and funerals; and close entertainment venues. Even the traditional celebration of the BounPimay New Year 2020 is recommended to be simplified as much as possible to prevent the spread of the epidemic, stop receiving tourists, and stop operating most international flights.
It can be seen that even when WHO identified Laos as one of the countries with no Covid-19 infections, Laos was not subjective and always seriously implemented the proposed solutions to be able to promptly respond to possible scenarios with the pandemic.
Accept reality, be ready to cope
Finally, the unexpected happened. Exactly one day after neighboring Myanmar, on the afternoon of March 24, Laos officially recorded its first two cases of Covid-19 infection, becoming the last country in Southeast Asia to be named on the world epidemiological map. Immediately, an interdisciplinary team was established, including epidemiologists from Laos and the World Health Organization (WHO), to check 10 locations in the capital Vientiane to collect information on people who had been in contact with the newly discovered Covid-19 patients.
Present at the Friendship Hospital on the morning of March 24, seeing everyone entering and leaving the hospital wearing masks, having to wash their hands with sanitizer before entering the hospital director's office, clasping hands to greet each other instead of shaking hands at work, the interview was conducted through medical masks, we understood that Laos had truly entered the fight against the epidemic.
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| The ward of Friendship Hospital is where the first two Covid-19 patients in Laos were treated. |
Hospital Director, Dr. Snong Thongsana said:“The Friendship Hospital has been assigned to treat Covid-19 patients. We have prepared a 10-room isolation area with full equipment to be ready to receive patients. If necessary, we can mobilize the newly built hospital area to be an isolation area for nearly 400 patients. Our team of doctors and nurses are ready to fight the epidemic. We have received treatment regimens according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization and neighboring countries such as Vietnam, China, and South Korea.”
On the afternoon of March 23, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith inspected and directed the prevention of Covid-19 epidemic at newly designated treatment areas including the Vientiane Capital Academy of Politics and Administration (Nongbuathong village) with 100 hospital beds, the Mobile Police Training Center (Ministry of Public Security) in Dongchiengsy village with 200 beds and the Laos National Stadium Km16 with 1,242 hospital beds.
The inspection trip by the head of the Lao government took place in the context that the country is welcoming tens of thousands of workers from neighboring countries returning to avoid the epidemic, especially from Thailand, where the Covid-19 epidemic has appeared in provinces bordering Laos such as Khonkaen and Udon Thani.
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| An isolation room is prepared to receive suspected Covid-19 patients at Friendship Hospital. |
Local hospitals have been mobilized to receive and treat patients and quarantine those who have been in contact with infected people. Some schools and railway stations are expected to be mobilized as quarantine and screening sites for people entering the country. Thousands of medical students have been mobilized to support the health sector in receiving and screening Lao citizens at major border gates such as the Lao-Thai Friendship Border Gate in Vientiane, Savannakhet, and the Lao-Cambodia Border Gate in Champasak.
The Lao Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare said that Laos may have to welcome nearly 100,000 of its citizens back home during the outbreak. This is a great concern for this country. The fight against Covid-19 is truly entering a period of many difficult challenges./.