Ministry of Health issues urgent dispatch on strengthening Covid-19 epidemic prevention

According to official dispatch No. 2116/BYT-DP, information recorded from the national infectious disease surveillance system shows that the Covid-19 epidemic situation in the country has tended to increase since the beginning of April until now.

In the past 7 days (from April 5 to April 11, 2023), the whole country recorded 639 new Covid-19 cases, an average of 90 new cases per day, an increase of 3.8 times compared to the previous 7 days, of which the group aged 50 and over recorded 193 cases (accounting for 30.2% of new cases). The number of hospitalizations also tended to increase; the number of severe patients recorded during the week was 10 cases, an average of 1-2 severe cases recorded per day.

The Ministry of Health also said that the Covid-19 vaccination rate in some localities has not reached the set target.

In order to continue to proactively take measures to prevent and control the epidemic, control the epidemic situation, prevent the epidemic from breaking out again, and contribute to creating conditions for socio-economic development, the Ministry of Health requests the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities to continue to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister in the prevention and control of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases. Units must absolutely not be subjective, negligent, lose vigilance and effectively implement epidemic prevention and control measures according to Resolution No. 38/NQ-CP dated March 17, 2022 of the Government and the Plan for prevention and control of infectious diseases in 2023 in Decision No. 1331/QD-BYT dated March 10, 2023 of the Ministry of Health .

In addition, localities promote Covid-19 vaccination to achieve the targets set by the Government and the Prime Minister ; mobilize the participation of local authorities and departments, sectors and organizations to resolutely implement the review and mobilization of subjects to participate in Covid-19 vaccination, especially for high-risk groups.

The Ministry of Health also requested localities to proactively monitor and closely monitor the epidemic situation in the area; be ready to respond to possible epidemic situations. Strengthen the implementation of measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 epidemic in educational institutions, monitor at border gates, in medical facilities and in the community to detect early and handle promptly, not allowing the epidemic to spread to the community; closely coordinate with units of the Ministry of Health to proactively detect early new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Localities also need to organize an assessment of the epidemic level according to Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP dated October 11, 2021 of the Government, Decision No. 218/QD-BYT dated January 27, 2022 of the Ministry of Health on temporary guidance on medical expertise to implement the temporary regulation "Safely and flexibly adapting to and effectively controlling the Covid-19 epidemic" to promptly apply appropriate epidemic prevention and control measures according to the epidemic level.

Medical facilities need to organize well the admission, emergency, care and effective treatment of cases, especially for high-risk groups such as pregnant women, people with underlying diseases, the elderly, minimize deaths and strictly implement infection control, not allowing cross-infection in treatment facilities.

In particular, units need to prepare plans for patient admission and treatment and proactively improve treatment capacity, especially emergency and intensive care capacity to meet treatment requirements. Continue to ensure logistics, funding, drugs, vaccines, biological products, supplies, chemicals, equipment, and human resources for epidemic prevention and control.

The Ministry of Health also requested the People's Committees of provinces and cities to direct relevant units to strengthen disease prevention communication to raise awareness and change people's behavior in protecting the health of themselves, their families and the community. Regularly update information on the epidemic situation and advise people to comply with disease prevention and control requirements such as wearing masks, disinfecting in medical facilities, on public transport and at crowded places and events, especially during the upcoming holidays.

Currently, the World Health Organization still assesses the Covid-19 epidemic as an international public health emergency in the context of continuing to closely monitor the development of the epidemic situation, changes, and the emergence of new virus strains and variants in the future.

Although globally, hospitalizations, severe cases and deaths have decreased significantly compared to a year ago, some groups remain at high risk of severe cases or death, including the elderly, people with underlying medical conditions, people with immunodeficiency, and pregnant women, so priority should be given to protecting these groups.

It is worth noting that currently other infectious diseases such as hand, foot and mouth disease, dengue fever , flu... also have the risk of increasing the number of cases, leading to the risk of epidemic prevention.

VIET CHUNG

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