To loosen the distance, strictly control sources of infection

On the morning of October 11, the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention Control held a preliminary meeting to assess the implementation of social distancing loosening. Chairing the meeting were Nguyen Van Loi, Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly's Delegation, Head of the Steering Committee; Nguyen Hoang Thao, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Vo Van Minh, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. According to the Steering Committee, over more than 20 days of loosening the social distance, the whole province gained some good results in controlling and preventing sources of infection; The number of new cases decreased, F0s discharged more and more.

Outbreaks in the community have been controlled

To considerately ease the social distance in accordance with the actual situation, from September 20 to October 1, the province adjusted disease prevention and control measures, loosened the distance according to the plan. According to the Steering Committee, over more than 20 days of loosening the social distance, the whole province gained some good results in controlling and preventing sources of infection; The number of new cases decreased, F0s discharged more and more. Specifically, in just 7 days (from October 4 to 10), the number of Covid-19 cases detected in the community decreased by 39%, outbreaks in the community were controlled, the number of new cases was mainly detected in blockade areas, accounting for the majority (93.4% of the total number of detected infections). Currently, the whole province has more than 2,888,000 people who were vaccinated against Covid-19, of which more than 2,273,000 people received the first dose and more than 614,000 people received the second dose.

Nguyen Hoang Thao (third from the right), Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Head of the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control; and leaders of Thu Dau Mot City attended the ceremony of a new mobile medical station's establishment in Dong An Industrial Park 2. 

Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Lan Hieu, Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital, Medical Director of the Provincial Emergency Hospital, proposed that Binh Duong is an industrially developed province, the incidence of Covid -19 accounted for more than 10% of the population, the vaccine coverage rate almost covered the entire population of vaccination ages. In the new period, the province needs to remove concentrated isolation areas, field hospitals, and form a network to care for Covid-19 patients at home, at commune and ward levels. Hospitals need to have two separate ways for Covid-19 infected and non-infected patients.

Suspected people need to do PCR-test in the buffer zone, if the result is negative, they will be taken to the common disease treatment area. The Covid-19 treatment area should be divided into three sections (emergency resuscitation, treatment of moderate patients and post-Covid-19 areas). Associate Professor, Doctor Nguyen Lan Hieu emphasized that the province needs to bring in the private healthcare sector, check vaccinations, and reorganize accommodations fo workers. It is impossible not to have Covid-19 infections, not being afraid that Covid-19 is the new normalcy.

Sharing the same view, comments of Steering Committee's members also focused on providing solutions in the new situation. In particular, Nguyen Hoang Thao said that, in order for the anti-pandemic to achieve sustainable goals, the province continues to give priority to the second dose of Covid-19 vaccines to people in "red zones", "orange zones", "yellow zones", because the whole province currently has 1 "red" hamlet, 6 "orange" hamlets and 33 "yellow" hamlets. If the increasing vaccine coverage is combined with blockade in the "red zones", the number of infections will continue to decrease gradually.

According to the Provincial Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, the formula "Vaccine + 5K + people's consciousness + technology" is a factor for flexibly and safely adaptation to Covid-19. In photo: Vaccination against Covid-19 for people in Thu Dau Mot city.

To loosen but not indulge

Concluding the meeting, Nguyen Van Loi said that after more than three months of disease prevention and control, the whole provincial political system ha learned many profound lessons. The whole province is gradually changing its state to a safe, flexible adaptation and effective control of the disease, thus social activities, production and business are gradually being resumed. While the Covid-19 is still raging, the province loosened the social distance but did not loosen the management of socio-economic activities. Units and localities must not be subjective, neglect, need to continue develop anti-pandemic results. Binh Duong is appreciated by the Central government for its anti-pandemic work, especially in the strategy of reducing the mortality rate. Currently, the province is perfecting the mobile health system, increasing vaccine coverage rate, with the goal of more than 95% of people in the vaccination age group to receive the first dose and more than 20% of the population to get the second dose. These are conditions for the province to confidently enter a new phase, flexibly adapt to the pandemic and resume production.

Mobile medical station in Hoi Nghia ward (Tan Uyen town) perform vaccination against Covid-19 for workers.

The Secretary of Provincial Party Committee also stated a number of specific tasks that need attention and be carried out in the coming time. Namely, in treatment, it is necessary to pay attention to well implementation of mobile medical stations, three-tiered treatment, and needs a resource investment plan. Department of Health must report to Provincial Party Standing Committee on the demand for resources for mobile medical stations to do well in disease prevention control at the grassroots, focusing on the extensive implementation of this model at residential groups, community Covid groups, and lodging houses. Regarding PCR testing, the health branch needs to reorganize the system of scientific PCR testing machines to return results more quickly within 6 hours. It is expected that at the end of October, the province will review the anti-pandemic work and the model of mobile medical station.

In addition to treatment work, the Provincial Party Secretary paid special attention to social security work, providing support for really difficult people, the elderly. For those who have not received policy allowances of the central and provincial governments because of different reasons and circumstances, units and localities need to continue dealing with this  group in accordance with regulations. In traffic, people's travel needs to be flexible. Communication and information focus on disease prevention at home in combination with oriental medicine. The formula "Vaccine + 5K + people's consciousness + technology" is a factor for flexibly and safely adaptation to Covid-19.

Reported by Kim Ha - Translated by Ngoc Huynh