To improve effectiveness of Covid-19 community and safety teams

In order to overcome some limitations and inadequacies of the Covid-19 Community Team and Covid-19 Safety Team, Binh Duong provincial People's Committee issued Directive No. 12/CT-UBND on "Improving the operational efficiency of the Covid-19 Community and Safety Teams regarding the Covid-19 epidemic surveillance in residential areas and businesses”.

Accordingly, in order for the Covid-19 Community Team and Covid-19 Safety Team to work more effectively, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee requested all levels and sectors to thoroughly understand the role and position of the teams in monitoring and propagating Covid-19 prevention and control in households, units and businesses. It is necessary to review and immediately establish such Covid-19 teams,

Covid-19 safety teams in all residential areas and hostels ensure that 100% of residential units have supervision before July 10. People's Committees of districts, towns and cities set up subcommittees to direct the activities of the Covid-19 community teams and develop implementation plans before July 10. The People's Committees of communes, wards and townships develop plans for the Covid-19 community teams with substantive activities and avoid formality. The subcommittees are to direct the activities of the district-level Covid-19 Community Team and establish the subcommittee's Zalo group to deploy activities, grasp and report the situation in a timely manner.

All businesses inside and outside industrial parks, supermarkets, trade centers, convenience stores, and traditional markets are guaranteed to have the supervision of the Covid-19 Safety Team before July 10. The directive requires to clearly assign tasks to each enterprise in industrial parks, industrial clusters and enterprises located outside industrial parks. Department of Health and standing board of the steering committee should do researches and complete regulations and instructions to immediately deploy them to medical units so that the teams can operate effectively. The provincial Party Committee, provincial Vietnamese Fatherland Front Committee, directors, heads of departments and branches are to seriously implement this directive.

On July 7, the provincial People's Committee issued Document No. 3069/UBND-VX on implementing Official Letter No. 5389/BYT-MT dated July 7, 2021 of Ministry of Health on the reception of people from Ho Chi Minh city to the locality.

Accordingly, all people from Ho Chi Minh City (except for cases from other provinces and cities passing through Ho Chi Minh City but not stopping or parking) are considered as close contacts of people who have been in close contact with the infection. In case of confirmed illness, they must be quarantined at home for 7 days from the date of returning to their localities; they should continue to self-monitor their health for the next 7 days. At the same time, the test must be performed 3 times on the first day, the third day and the sixth day during the home medical quarantine period. During the self-monitoring period, it is required to limit contact with people around, not to participate in activities that gather in large numbers. If there are signs of fever, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing or signs of loss of taste, they must immediately notify the nearest medical facility for instructions on timely and correct handling.

Drivers of vehicles transporting goods in and out of Ho Chi Minh City must comply with the requirements for disease prevention and control under the guidance of Ministry of Health in Official Letter No. 898/BYT-MT dated July 7, 2021 on guiding the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic in the transportation of goods and Official Letter No. 4351/BYT-MT dated May 28, 2021 on strengthening the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic in the transportation of goods.

Reported by Kim Ha – Translated by Vi Bao