Medical shields at the border gates in the Northwest region

The International Health Quarantine Center, Lao Cai Department of Health, is affirming its role as a strong "epidemiological shield" of the Northwestern border region.

At the most bustling border in the Northwest region, where the flow of people and goods passing through every day has far exceeded the pre-pandemic level, the Center has always been steadfast, rising to become a model of digital governance in the local preventive medicine sector. The picture of the two years ahead - 2024 and nine months - 2025 - shows a collective that both maintains professional discipline and drastically transforms towards the electronicization of the entire process, ensuring smooth customs clearance while still preventing the spread of the disease.

Quarantine officers of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control propagate cross-border epidemic prevention to people entering and exiting at Lao Cai international border gate.

Sustainable "epidemic prevention belt" at the border

At the front line of the border gate, where the number of people and goods passing through each day has far exceeded the pre-pandemic level, the Center's staff always maintains the spirit of comprehensively "preventing - controlling - controlling" the epidemic.

In 2024, the Center for Medical Surveillance monitored 4,994,809 people, reaching 100% of the plan and exceeding 53% compared to 2023. More importantly, no imported infectious disease cases were recorded - a result that clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of border quarantine work. On-site first aid work is regularly deployed, helping to ensure medical safety and the friendly image of the international border gate.

In parallel, medical inspections of vehicles and goods are strictly carried out. In 2024, the Center inspected 163,559 vehicles (148,877 cars, 14,682 train cars/locomotives) and 148,906 goods, far exceeding the target and increasing sharply compared to the previous year. This is an important effort to help logistics and cross-border trade flows remain smooth and safe in the context of strong trade recovery.

Disinfection of the transport environment is still maintained as the "armor" of the medical frontline. Although from October 19, 2023, the Ministry of Health has adjusted COVID-19 from group A to group B - leading to the suspension of disinfection spraying for vehicles leaving the country - the Center still carried out 103,680 vehicle disinfection sprayings in 2024, ensuring epidemiological hygiene and border transport safety.

Cross-border cooperation continues to be the “vein” of early warning. Vietnam and Hekou Customs (China) organized two rounds of disease transmission monitoring during the year; entomological indicators were all within safe limits, and mouse liver and spleen samples tested by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology did not detect plague bacteria. Maintaining a “dual monitoring” mechanism helps both sides calibrate risks in real time, instead of just exchanging information one way.

The center also carried out 220 rounds of disinfection spraying of inter-sectoral working buildings and two general cleaning campaigns, creating a "stable hygiene belt" around the border gates and openings.

In the field of food safety, in 2024, the Center collected and tested 122 water and food samples - exceeding the plan by 16%. The results showed that 94 samples met the standards (77%), 28 samples failed (23%), mainly in dishes and pre-processed foods; related facilities were instructed to correct the situation according to hygiene standards.

In particular, digital transformation is considered by the Center as a pillar to improve the capacity to "keep the pace". Amidst the huge flow of people and goods, the Center is the leading unit in digital transformation in the province's preventive health system. In 2024, the unit issued 647 outgoing documents, processed 1,439 incoming documents, received and processed 6,328 sets of completely electronic medical quarantine declarations - ending the "paperwork pile", significantly reducing processing time during peak hours.

Maintain the "green zone", master technology

In the first 9 months of 2025, the flow of people, vehicles, and goods through the border gate increased sharply along with the pace of border trade and tourism.

The Center has monitored 4,244,260 people, reaching 118.1% compared to the same period in 2024, completing 100% of the yearly plan in just nine months. Of which, in September 2025 alone, nearly 490,000 people were monitored, with no imported infectious disease cases recorded.

Regarding vehicles and goods, the Center inspected 114,772 vehicles and 106,148 goods, maintaining a high and stable workload. Vehicle disinfection reached 78,505 times, an increase of 9.5% over the same period last year - demonstrating the initiative to ensure environmental hygiene in parallel with the growth of trade.

In 9 months, the Center carried out 6 cases of ash quarantine, 3 times higher than the same period in 2024 - a job that requires strict procedures and absolute respect for local customs. At the same time, the monitoring team worked directly with 23 food service establishments in the Kim Thanh area.

The bilateral cooperation mechanism between Vietnam and China has been maintained effectively. Two vector surveillance rounds this year both showed safety indicators, and no plague bacteria were detected in test specimens. Notably, 100% of medical quarantine procedures at Kim Thanh border gate were received and processed online, with the rate of electronic documents reaching over 98% - a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of digitalizing border medical administrative procedures.

From the above results, it can be seen that the "three pillars" that help the Center maintain the green zone at the border gate include: Strict professional discipline, 24/7 monitoring of people, vehicles, and goods; Inter-sectoral - inter-border linkage, proactive early warning of risks and sharing of scientific data; Digitalization of the entire process, helping to increase processing capacity, reduce customs clearance time, ensure transparency and financial efficiency.

Looking forward to the remaining period of 2025 and the following years, the Center has identified a strategy that also revolves around three focuses: Comprehensive, legal quarantine, preventing disease from entering; Early warning of risks - border cooperation, synchronizing processes with the other side; Digitalizing operations - financial transparency, promoting the "digital border gate" platform, expanding non-cash payments, exploiting big data to serve traffic forecasting and human resource arrangement.

Looking back on the past journey, the Center has maintained its frontline in epidemic prevention, while firmly stepping on the path of digital transformation. Nearly 9 million people passing through were safely monitored, hundreds of thousands of vehicles and goods were checked, tens of thousands of disinfections were carried out, there were no imported cases of infectious diseases, the rate of cashless payments exceeded the standard, and administrative procedures were nearly 100% electronic.

In the context of increasingly vibrant border trade, these achievements are not just statistics, but a symbol of the spirit of "prevention from the root, action with data" - in the true spirit of public health in the post-pandemic period. With that foundation, the Center is making an important contribution to maintaining the border health belt, protecting public health, and at the same time promoting trade, tourism and sustainable development of Lao Cai province in the new integration period.

baoquocte.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/la-chan-y-te-noi-cua-khau-vung-tay-bac-post887606.html