A festival in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) The ministrysent an official document to the Government regarding strengthening anti-pandemicmeasures during the country’s Lunar New Year period.
In thedocument, the ministry said many localities are still recording a large numberof COVID-19 cases in the community, especially in localities with highpopulation density, high rates of trade and travel activities.
In addition,the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly, with complicated and unpredictabledevelopments in many countries around the world.
To ensure theeffective prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry ofHealth proposed the Government consider stopping unnecessary gatherings ofcrowds, entertainment activities, festivals and religious activities inlocalities at risk of an outbreak during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Travel andtrade activities during the Lunar New Year holiday must absolutely comply withthe 5K message (masks, disinfection, no gatherings, medical declaration anddistance) of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention andcontrol, the document said.
Localities,based on the pandemic situation in their areas, will assess and update thepandemic level on the local portal and to the Ministry of Health to take up theanti-pandemic measures in the area according to Government's Resolution No. 128on safe and flexible adaptation with the pandemic and Ministry of Health'sDecision No. 4800 on COVID-19 guidelines.
In a separatemove, the Ministry of Health also asked local administrations, Pasteurinstitutes, and the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology to enhancesurveillance for the Omicron variant.
All arrivalsinto the country since November 28, 2021, who have tested positive forcoronavirus through the RT-PCR method or NAAT (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test)within 14 days of entry, will have their samples taken for genomic sequencing.
If theOmicron variant is detected, all close contacts of the infected will also betested and all positive samples will be further analysed as well.
Healthauthorities must strengthen the surveillance system for cases with unusualdevelopments and characteristics (number of cases, severe development orhospitalisation, or abnormal increase in mortality over time, geographicalarea, specific groups of people, etc.), and collect samples for screening andidentification, to identify any Omicron transmissions.
All geneticsequencing results must be uploaded onto the Global Science Initiative andPrimary Source (GISAID), which is a platform to share genetic data of influenzavirus and SARS-CoV-2.
Localitieshave also been told to immediately administer the COVID-19 vaccines they havebeen allocated to boost vaccine coverage, with attention on the unvaccinated orpartially vaccinated in their jurisdictions, as well as providing booster shotsfor priority groups (old people, people with chronic health issues, andimmunocompromised conditions).
From thebeginning of the fourth outbreak to December 17, the country recorded over 1.5million cases of COVID-19, of which nearly 1.1 million patients were declaredall-clear and more than 29,000 died. The number of community cases and deathscontinue to increase rapidly in many localities.
Over the pastweek, Vietna has recorded about 15,000 new COVID-19 cases a day, including9,000-10,000 community cases.
According tothe Ministry of Health, the Omicron variant has appeared on four continents. Atleast 77 countries and territories have confirmed cases of Omicron.
According to theWorld Health Organization, Omicron is worrisome because it increases the chanceof reinfection, it can evade immunity systems, and it spreads 3.2 times fasterthan the Delta strain. However, there is no evidence that the Omicron variantreduces the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, nor is there evidence ofincreased morbidity and mortality./.
VNA
