Continual and synchronized measures implemented to prevent and cut the spreading sources

As the number of Covid-19 infection cases continuously increases in the past few days, Binh Duong provincial authority continued to drastically and synchronously implement measures to prevent and cut off the sources of Covid-19 infection, thereby ensuring the successful implementation of the dual target for the time to come.

Risks potentially remain

In the past few days, the provincial authority has always recorded the number of Covid-19 infection cases at double digits or more as 131 cases were recorded on July 5 alone. The rapid increase in the number of infection cases was due to a strategy of wide testing and rapid testing to find F0 cases in the community. In recent days, the province's health sector has mobilized total efforts to sample community screening in high-risk areas with about 120,000 people being sampled. Currently, the health sector continues to take samples for testing as planned for 1 million people in 24 high-risk communes and wards in Thu Dau Mot city, Thuan An city, Tan Uyen town and Ben Cat town.

Members of Binh Duong provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 prevention and control are checking a concentrated quarantine area in a hotel

Holding the peculiarity that the province has many companies and factories interwoven with motels and spontaneous markets, Covid-19 epidemic have penetrated among workers and hostels. Binh Duong provincial authority has also paid special attention to Covid-19 prevention and control in industrial parks and enterprises. According to the medical surveillance system, as of the evening of July 4, the province had 40 companies and enterprises that recorded more than 500 cases of F0 to Covid-19, the highest was the system of Wanek 1, 2, and 4 companies that 328 infection cases were uncovered. In addition, in recent days, Binh Duong has discovered a number of new outbreaks and cases at Bo La Detention Center of Phuoc Hoa Commune in Phu Giao District, Hostel No. 36 Duc Tan of Binh Duong Quarter 1 at An Binh ward in Di An city, Hostel No. 57 at Road 21 of Nhi Dong 1 neighborhood at Di An ward in Di An city, a related case of Hansol Vina Company, and a related case of Spartronic Vietnam Company.

The total number of cases in newly discovered outbreaks is more than 50 cases, of which 1 case was recorded in Ho Chi Minh city. Recently, due to the promotion of propaganda, people actively went to medical facilities to get checked out, so the province discovered scattered cases in the community. However, in reality, the outbreaks in the community of Binh Duong province all originated from Ho Chi Minh city because the number of people trading back and forth daily between the two localities is very large. The awareness of many people during this fourth epidemic is still negligent, subjective, not strictly following the recommendations of Ministry of Health, making dishonest declarations, leading to difficulties for tracing forces in identifying and determining the sources of infection. And the important reason that Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long affirmed: “During the 4th epidemic, the southern provinces had to deal with the Delta variant from India with a faster rate of spread, a shorter transmission cycle (about 2-3 days), especially the possibility of infection in the air environment”.

Infection sources not production chains cut off

In view of the successful implementation of the province's dual targets, Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said that in the face of the fact that the number of cases increased, Binh Duong had synchronously implemented measures to prevent and cut off the sources of infection not the production chains. The province's biggest difficulty at present is the lack of tests and biological products for large-scale testing as the health workforce has been mobilized to the maximum still has not been enough to respond to the current epidemic situation. “In the past few days, Binh Duong has continuously and urgently directed sectors to coordinate to improve quarantine and testing capacity, treatment, vaccination deployment and promoting assignment and decentralization to define the role of each level and each branch and to well implement the motto of "4 on the spot", avoiding being confused and passive,” said Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha.

The province is also supported by Viet A Company with machinery, biological products, and human resources at the provincial CDC, which can test 100,000 samples per day (equivalent to 1 million people if samples are combined). The province has established a Covid-19 treatment area as an ICU (emergency and resuscitation) Center at facility 2 of the provincial General Hospital and is constantly improving its capacity to treat patients with Covid-19. Mild patients with fewer symptoms will be treated by the province at health centers at the district, town and city levels.

The province is also surveying the Thu Dau Mot city Gymnastics and Sports Gymnasium and the National University dormitory in Ho Chi Minh city to possibly use them as treatment areas. Therefore, the province's total treatment capacity for Covid-19 is currently about 2,400 patients. Local Department of Health is also urgently planning to deploy about 1 million doses of vaccine to workers while strong social distancing is implemented in Di An city. In particular, the province strengthens communication to raise awareness of people and communities while they strictly handled and criminally handled violators and organizations that cause epidemics to spread in the community. Currently, the province is continuing to propose to the government and Ministry of Health to continue supporting biological products and testing to serve Covid-19 prevention and control.

Upholding the motto of "4 on the spot", the province has expanded the concentrated quarantine areas to 20,000 - 30,000 beds, piloted by the implementation of low-risk F1 quarantine at home and considered quarantining at the company. The provincial People's Committee has also set up inspection teams to check quarantine areas to limit cross-infection in the quarantine areas by paying special attention to reduce the density and distance in the quarantine areas under the direction of Ministry of Health.

Reported by Kim Ha – Translated by Vi Bao