HCMC launches app to assess virus transmission risks
THE Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communication on Tuesday launched an application that will help assess Covid-19 transmission risks.
The app is available on the website https://antoandn. tphcm.gov.vn and is expected to be in app stores on Android and iOS soon.
The app will also help the Steering Board for Covid-19 Prevention and Control and relevant agencies monitor the situation.
The Vietnamese city has issued safety criteria for businesses in the fields of tourism, transport, food services, education, trading markets, supermarkets and commercial cent r e s . Ot h e r c r i t e r i a f o r museums, relics, libraries, and sport service establishments have also been issued.
The fundraising board for Covid-19 prevention and control has received more than 153 billion dong ($6.5 million) in donations from companies and individuals since March 20 when the fund was launched by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City.
Of the number, two billion dong was donated to Can Gio District Hospital, a dormitory used as a quarantine area at Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City; Cho Ray Hospital; the city’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases; Cu Chi Field Hospital; the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi; and the Military School’s Building Block A which is used as a quarantine area.
Nearly two billion dong was donated to doctors and other health staff at quarantine areas, and to 16 sites that check body temperatures and health declaration forms.
More than 14 billion dong was allocated to 18,707 lottery ticket sellers who faced difficulties during the social distancing period.
Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health head Dr Nguyen Tan Binh said 55 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in the city since the outbreak, including 11 being treated at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Cu Chi Field Hospital.
As of May 4, the city has 88 people isolated in its quarantine areas, while 103 are selfisolating at home.
Of the 11 patients being treated at hospitals, nine who previously recovered and were discharged from hospitals tested positive for Sars-CoV-2 again.
At an online meeting of the Steering Board for Covid-19 Prevention and Control on Monday, city People’s Committee vice-chairman Le Thanh Liem told local health officials to test patients who have recovered and been discharged every day during the past 30 days.
The areas where these patients live should be isolated, he said.
Covid-19 patients who have been discharged from hospitals are isolated in the city’s quarantine areas for 14 days.
Liem also told people’s committees, especially in Districts 1 and 2, and the Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention to continue carrying out strict s ur v e i l l a nce of Covi d- 1 9 patients who recover and are discharged from hospitals and are sent home.
These patients are required to comply with regulations about self-quarantine at home for 14 days after their discharge. They should wear masks, wash hands regularly, limit contact with others, and monitor their health for 30 days.
Liem also instructed the department to increase the number of tests of people who have been quarantined after entering Vietnam from other countries. During this period, they should be tested on the first, fifth, 10th and 14th day of quarantine instead of just two times before.
The city will continue testing workers who live in rented rooms, staff serving meals to workers at companies, and servers at large restaurants, as well as people with symptoms of respiratory diseases who go to hospitals for examination and treatment.
Drugstore staff should also provide information about Covid-19 for people who have symptoms of respiratory diseases.
The department is working with other agencies to check companies, organisations and establishments to ensure that they are complying with safety criteria for Covid-19 prevention and control which the Pe o p l e’s Committe e h a s issued.