The medical force takes samples from workers in the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in HCMC’s District 7 for Covid-19 testing. HCMC has encouraged enterprises in the city to conduct weekly Covid-19 tests on their employees - PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The HCMC government has encouraged enterprises in the city to buy test kits and conduct quick Covid-19 tests on their employees once a week as part of the city’s plan to combat the pandemic until July 10.

Accordingly, enterprises will conduct the tests under the instructions of the municipal Center for Disease Control, the local media reported.

The city has also worked out a plan to take samples and conduct screening in industrial and export processing zones and hi-tech parks and produce the results within 12 hours. In addition, the testing of residents in districts has been enhanced.

The healthcare sector should take the initiative to improve the testing capacity. People at centralized quarantine centers and in areas under lockdown should have their samples taken daily.

If quick tests show a negative result, the healthcare sector will conduct group tests of five to 10 samples, using the Realtime-PCR method, to test one million samples per day.

The city has also asked the healthcare sector to determine the areas with a high risk of pandemic transmission an hour after Covid-19 cases are detected.

As some medical workers have been infected with the coronavirus, the municipal government asked all medical staff to strictly comply with protective measures and prevent cross infection at treatment facilities.

The city has also reviewed the capacity of existing centralized quarantine centers to draw up plans to expand them to meet the demand in case the number of direct contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases increases sharply. Hotels meeting requirements in the city have been requisitioned as paid quarantine facilities.

In addition, the city has piloted the home quarantine of those in direct contact with Covid-19 cases in line with the Ministry of Health’s directions.

Plans and resources have been made available in case of 10,000 Covid-19 patients.

A group in charge of buying Covid-19 vaccines must quickly work with partners and vaccine producers to accelerate the purchase of the vaccines. The first vaccine batch must be shipped to the city at the end of this quarter at the latest so that two thirds of the city’s population will be vaccinated against Covid-19 this year.

Besides monitoring the compliance with anti-pandemic regulations at supermarkets, wholesale and traditional wet markets, the city will shut down those failing to ensure safety.

HCMC is experiencing the largest-ever Covid-19 outbreak with the number of new Covid-19 cases surging despite social distancing measures.