Binh Duong must pay special attention to reasonable tracing and testing

Early June 30, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control held an online meeting with Binh Duong province on Covid-19 prevention and control. Attending at the meeting in the province were Nguyen Hoang Thao, Vice-Secretary of provincial Party Committee, Chairman of provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Loc Ha, member of provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice-Chairman of provincial People's Committee. At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam emphasized that Binh Duong must pay special attention to two key points in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic: reasonable tracing and testing.

Prioritizing all resources for Covid-19 prevention and control

At the online meeting, Mr. Ha said that in recent days, the province has recorded an average of 20-40 Covid-19 cases every day. Most Covid-19 infections in the province occurred at lodging facilities, in businesses, and industrial parks. More than 30 businesses in the province reported Covid-19 infections. The province predicted that there will be F0 cases orginating from Ho Chi Minh City every day. The chain of infection continues to be complicated. If the province does not control it well, there is a high possibility that the pandemic will break out in industrial parks. Although making efforts in controlling density in concentrated isolation areas, the province is still concerned about the risk of cross-infection.

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He added that the province has recently tried to implement logical blockade, social distancing and zoning; regularly checked, propagandized people to strictly comply with social distancing regulations. The province is expected to carry out screening tests in key areas, taking samples of 1 million people for testing within 15 days. In a bid to prepare for a more complicated pandemic situation, the province has increased the capacity of concentrated isolation areas from the initial estimate of 5,000 to 20,000 to 30,000 seats; ensured the capacity of testing 5,000 samples/day (equivalent to 50,000 aggregate samples); increased the number of treatment beds from 250 to 1,000 beds. The province has also petitoned the Government, especially the Ministry of Health, and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City to support human resources, equipment, applications for tracing, forecasting, etc. to stamp out the pandemic.

At the meeting, members of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control also noted that Binh Duong need to pay attention to some issues related to tracing and zoning for some F0 cases, the time of the outbreak of the pandemic  in a number of key areas to focus on hot spots, make tight zoning, bend on tracing, taking samples for testing, and organizing isolation logically; urgently make a list of workers in enterprises and industrial parks with information about phone numbers, places of residence, etc., so that when pandemic situations arise, they can quickly trace, zone and stamp out the pandemic. The province needs to propagandize and call for workers at lodging facilities to strictly observe regulations on Covid-19 prevention and control to avoid cross-infection; direct the implementation of testing to quickly detect F0 cases to isolate and avoid transmission in the community; implement anti-Covid-19 plans in industrial parks in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Health…

Keeping areas that are still safe from Covid-19

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam asked for Binh Duong to consider and assess the level of pandmic risk in each area. The province must keep areas that are still safe from Covid-19 and conduct periodic screening tests in crowded places with high risk  such as markets, bus stations, piers, industrial parks. The province must continue tightening control over areas with complicated infection chains, especially medical facilities.

Especially, the province must tighten the spirit of Covid-19 prevention and control in the "new normal" state, with focus on high-risk areas, mass activities, entertainment services, non-essential services ... When announcing the outbreak of the pandemic, the province needs to carry out synchronous measures to strictly control over the movement of people, especially workers in factories and industrial parks; propagandize and call for people to strictly follow the "5K" message of the Ministry of Health: Khau trang (facemask)- (Khu khuan) disinfection- (Khoang cach) distance- (Khong tu tap) no gathering – (Khai bao y te) health declaration; reasonably organizing essential services to ensure epidemiological safety such as implementing solutions to ensure safe shopping...

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, along with requiring industrial parks, enterprises to have plans against the pandemic, reorganizing working shifts and making electronic medical declarations, the province must direct them to urgently make a list of workers with information about phone numbers, places of residence, etc.

The Deputy Prime Minister also asked for Binh Duong to pay special attention to two key points in the fight against the pandemic: logical tracing and testing. Accordingly, the province must carry out testing and tracing in pandmic-hit areas and those still being safe. The first step is to mobilize forces with synchronized direction and coordination between tracing, taking samples, testing, and matching results, ensuring results that are returned within 24 hours. Test results, especially for F0 cases must be notified as quickly as possible to relevant localities. The second step is to deploy screening tests for risk assessment in safe areas, with reasonable locations and frequencies on the basis of the health sector’s recommendations such as lodging facilites for workers, markets, bus stations, industrial parks…

He emphasized that Binh Duong needs to pay great attention to harmonious combination of Realtime-PCR testing with aggregate samples and rapid testing; strengthen screening tests at hospitals, drug stores, clinics, tighten Covid-19 prevention and control at medical treatment facilities. The province must be based on scientific data for isolation and zoning. At first, there is not enough evidence to be able to widen isolation and zoning, and then focus on tracing and testing inside quickly, so that there is a basis soon. From that, the province must divide different levels of risk to narrow down and have tighter control in line with actual conditions. For lodging facilities, they need to be zoned closely while planning to expand and reduce density reasonably. The province also urgently needs to pilot home isolation for F1 cases with appropriate scale in order to prepare for a plan if the pandemic breaks out.

Reported by Cao Son-Translated by K.T