A street in Ho Chi Minh City during implementation of social distancing measures (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) — Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s current COVID-19 epicentre, willcontinue its strict social distancing measures for another month untilSeptember 15 given the risk of a resurgence, said Phan Van Mai, vicesecretary of the city's Party Committee, on August 15.
Speaking at a meeting toreceive goods and necessities for people affected by the pandemic in Vietnam’sbiggest city, the official said the pandemic could become more severe if thecity lower its guard.
It is essential thatsocial distancing be applied to reduce the number of new cases and graduallybring the city to a 'new normal' state, he said, emphasising that people'sawareness is the most important factor in the work.
Theofficial said the pandemic in the city has been partiallycontrolled but is still very complicated with the number of infections remaininghigh and the treatment system being overloaded.
He said the Government’s requirementto control the pandemic by September 15 is challenging, but it is a commondesire of the people. Leaders of the city affirmed maximum prioritytowards pandemic prevention, while putting the health and life of thepeople first and foremost.
The need to continuesocial distancing for one more month was also noted earlier on August 14by Secretary of the Committee Nguyen Van Nen at a conference assessingpandemic prevention and control results after two weeks.
The city has been implementingthe Prime Minister’s directive on social distancing rules since July 9 andstarted to impose even more restrictions on July 24 to contain the spreadof the virus.
On July 23, theMunicipal People's Committee decided to extend the application of socialdistancing measures until August 1.
On August 1, the cityissued another decision on imposing city-wide social distancing measures foran additional 14 days from 0:00 on August 2./.
