On the afternoon of January 30, the Hanoi City Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention held an online meeting with districts and wards to urgently implement measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
At the meeting, Deputy Director of the Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh reported that from January 28, 2021, until now, Hanoi has recorded 4 new community cases.
Specifically, a female patient from Times City, Vinh Tuy ward, Hai Ba Trung district; a male patient temporarily residing in Cau Giay; and 2 workers confirmed on January 30 are all employees of the Z153 factory – Department of Engineering, Ministry of National Defense, Dong Anh district.
The representative of Dong Anh district stated that all F1 individuals related to the fourth case in Hanoi have been tested, with results expected by the evening of January 30. The entire population related to the Z153 factory has been organized by the district to set up checkpoints, significantly limiting incoming and outgoing activities. The Z153 factory has been completely locked down; it has 400 workers, and 57 people have been isolated, while over 300 workers are still inside the factory and have been tested and sent to the Hanoi CDC for examination.
The district requested the Department of Health to conduct comprehensive testing in the surrounding residential area of the factory, which has about 2,000 residents. It also requested the City to convert Bac Thang Long hospital into a facility for receiving and treating Covid-19 patients. At the meeting, Dong Anh district requested permission from the City for schools to close from next week, effectively starting the Tet holiday one week earlier to proactively prevent the spread of the virus.
Evaluating the epidemic situation, the leaders of the Department of Health and Hanoi CDC both acknowledged that the current risk of transmission is very high due to F1 and F2 cases becoming F0. However, these cases are all related to outbreaks in Quang Ninh and Hai Duong, so the epidemic is still under control at this time.
“The current reality puts Hanoi in a situation where if we do not act quickly, decisively, and calmly to analyze and return test results for F1 and F2 cases, the risk of disease transmission will easily continue. The testing burden on Hanoi CDC will be very large if the testing area is expanded for individuals returning from epidemic regions as directed by the Ministry of Health. The CDC has sought every way to increase capacity and will ensure this work,” said Mr. Truong Quang Viet, Deputy Director in charge of Hanoi CDC.
At the meeting, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dac Phu, former Director of the Department of Preventive Health, Senior Advisor of the Vietnam Public Health Emergency Response Center (Ministry of Health), assessed that Hanoi has effectively implemented preventive measures; not overly complacent or excessive like some other localities.
“Widespread surveillance and detection are now key to successfully tracing and isolating outbreaks. At this moment, we must determine to coexist safely with the virus, such as strictly wearing masks and limiting large gatherings. This is a necessary message to ensure the public adheres to the guidelines. Hanoi specifically advises against gatherings such as year-end parties, which is a good measure for the public to follow, as vague recommendations are difficult to enforce,” said Mr. Phu.