Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday called on local governments to ease overly strict pandemic prevention measures that affect production and business activity, and prevent the nation from achieving its dual goals of fighting the virus and developing the economy.
Vietnam is battling its worst COVID-19 outbreak, with about 5,500 cases reported in 39 of 63 provinces and cities since April last year. Several centers, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have put social distancing measures in place to curtail the virus, while others have imposed controls on returnees from affected areas, Chinh said in a statement.
“Some locations, however, have slapped rigid and extreme measures that have hit production and business activities, putting supply chains and large-scale production at risk of disruption,” the premier said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
He told authorities nationwide to ensure that they are putting the correct people in quarantine and are not blocking transportation or banning trade.
The directive came on the same day that Ho Chi Minh City asked officials in bordering Dong Nai Province to adopt a virus-control plan that creates favorable conditions for transportation of goods and the movement of workers between the city and the province.
Authorities in Dong Nai, home to 32 industrial parks, have been widely criticized over the province’s 21-day mandatory self-quarantine, or paid quarantine at hotels, for people who return from Ho Chi Minh City from Saturday.
State media reported that national roads linking the city and Dong Nai yesterday were congested with goods trucks, passenger buses and motorbikes, with many canceling Dong Nai trips to avoid quarantine.
More than 6,000 people working at Ho Chi Minh City’s 17 industrial parks reside in Dong Nai, and a large number of Ho Chi Minh residents work in the neighboring province, city authorities said.
Ho Chi Minh City imposed social distancing measures from Monday last week for 15 days, including shutting nonessential businesses and restricting gatherings of more than 10 people in public places. It also locked down one district.
At least 15 provinces and cities have mandated quarantines of 14 to 21 days for returnees from Ho Chi Minh City and other virus-hit localities, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on Friday.
Ho Chi Minh City, which has a population of almost 10 million, has reported 355 local virus cases and one death from May 18, with most infected people tied to a religious group.
The worst-affected areas are Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces, where global electronics makers have factories, and Hanoi, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health said.
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