Hanoi keeps up efforts to prevent COVID-19 spread

Thứ Ba, 14/04/2020, 16:25
Chairman of the Hanoi Municipal People Committee urged the city's pharmacies to report on people buying medicines for cold, cough and fever in recent days as authorities keep up efforts to find potential "high-risk" COVID-19 infections


At a meeting on COVID-19's fight on April 13, Chairman of the Hanoi Municipal People Committee Nguyen Duc Chung has asked 7,000 pharmacies to report people buying medicines for cold, cough and fever. The buyers should be asked to submit health declarations immediately, he said.

Hanoi keeps up efforts to prevent COVID-19 spread.

"If any of these pharmacies miss any of the mentioned cases, they will be dealt with in accordance with the law. This is their duty to participate in the prevention and control of the epidemic. If any pharmacy does not comply, their license can be revoked," he said.

Hanoi authorities also order all private clinics and medical centers to take samples for COVID-19 testing from any visitor seeking treatment for ailments like fever, cough and shortness of breath.

Chung said small outbreaks in Hanoi have technically been put under control, with the Bach Mai Hospital, Vietnam’s largest COVID-19 hotspot, having its lockdown lifted since April 12.

However, there are complications at the Ha Loi Village in Me Linh District, which has emerged as Hanoi’s second largest hotspot with at least 12 cases associated with it so far.

Chung emphasized that the capital city is one of the locales with the highest potential for infection in the community. He earlier said that the emergence of several secondary infections indicates that the disease has shown signs of spreading into the community.

As of 15pm on April 14, Vietnam has recorded a total of 265 COVID-19 cases with no deaths, of which 145 have fully recovered and been discharged from hospital. Nearly 122,000 coronavirus tests have been carried out in Vietnam, it said, and 72,500 people have been under quarantine.

By Minh Thien