An area under lockdown in HCMC’s Binh Tan District. The city’s number of new Covid-19 cases in the community has risen - PHOTO: NLDO

HCMC - The number of Covid-19 cases detected in the community has risen and been higher than the number of cases in areas under lockdown in HCMC over the past few days, said municipal chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong.

At a meeting on August 16, Phong said Covid-19 cases being infectious while in the community have accounted for 53% of the city’s new Covid-19 cases over the past few days, the local media reported.

Earlier, new cases in areas under lockdown accounted for some 80% of the total new cases.

To reduce the number of new cases in the community, it is important to accelerate the vaccination, Phong said.

He asked Thu Duc City and districts to take advantage of the social distancing period to speed up the vaccination and spend more efforts fighting off the pandemic so that the city can return to a new normal state soon.

The municipal Departments of Information and Technology and Transport must make daily reports on the volume of vehicles on the street these days, Phong noted.

He also required the quick support for disadvantaged residents.

At the meeting, secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said the pandemic in the city had been extremely serious and the responsibility of districts’ leaders was heavy. The city must base on its resources to win over the pandemic.

He also asked districts to pay more attention to support policies for low-income laborers affected by the pandemic.

HCMC Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc said the city will enhance anti-pandemic measures with specific objectives in three phases between now and September 15.

In the first phase from August 15 to 22, the city will try to reduce the number of Covid-19 deaths and prevent Covid-19 patients getting worse without being treated.

In the second phase from August 23 to 31, the city seek to expand coronavirus-free areas and put the pandemic in districts 5, 7, 11, Can Gio, Cu Chi, Nha Be and Phu Nhuan under control.

In the last phase from September 1 to 15, Covid-19 cases and clusters in the community are expected to be controlled. The city expected to cut the number of hospitalized Covid-19 cases per day to below 2,000 and the number of cases discharged from hospital per day must be higher than the hospitalized cases.