Drastic measures needed to prevent spread of COVID-19: Health official

Health departments in all 63 cities and provinces are ordered to check testing facilities and encourage people to download the Bluezone contract tracing app. (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has urged health departments in all 63 cities and provinces of the country to take all measures possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has become more complex with a higher speed of transmission in the community.

At a virtual meeting with directors of the health departments on August 5, Long said the ministry has for the first time sent officials, professors, and experts to the central region, in particular Da Nang and Quang Nam - the two hotspots at present - to stamp out the disease as soon as possible.

The containment of the pandemic is not only required in Da Nang and Quang Nam but in all cities and provinces throughout the country, he said, adding that more efforts are needed to win the fight.

He cited Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as saying that “Each citizen is a soldier, and each house, hamlet, residential area is a fortress in the fight against the pandemic”.

For the health sector, Long said, each health facility is a fortress and each health worker is a soldier in the frontlines against the pandemic.

The official urged localities where there are no infections to prepare human resources and facilities in case the disease spreads widely.

The health departments in all 63 cities and provinces have been ordered to check testing facilities and encourage people to download the Bluezone contract tracing app./.