After two COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the city, Saigon is starting to close down businesses to curtail the spread of the virus.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee issued an urgent order yesterday regarding the city’s anti-Covid efforts, reports Tuoi Tre. Specifically, Saigon has shuttered bars and nightclubs from midnight of July 31 and requested citizens to wear masks when in public.
All crowded events are suspended and gatherings of more than 30 people are banned. In the memo, the municipal government cautions against crowded occasions like wedding parties and funerals and encourages organizations and companies to conduct online meetings and work remotely. If face-to-face meetings need to take place, participants must wear masks, wash hands before and after the meeting, and avoid hand shakes and close contacts.
The guidelines are to be followed from today until further notice.
Beside limiting social interactions, Saigon is also conducting COVID-19 tests among locals who visited Đà Nẵng in July. Tuoi Tre writes in a separate article that after three days of health declarations, about 9,000 Saigoneers who were in the central Vietnam city have self-reported, 600 of whom have had their biological samples taken.
At the moment, labs are prioritizing testing those who exhibit respiratory symptoms, had direct contact with confirmed cases, or have been to COVID-19 hot spots, including hospitals in Đà Nẵng. Should the tests turn out to be negative, Saigoneers in this list are still required to self-quarantine or undergo quarantine at state-appointed facilities for 14 days.
According to Nguyen Tri Dung, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), the city has 13 institutions capable of doing COVID-19 testing with a maximum total capacity of 3,000 cases per day. In Hanoi, municipal officials are also testing 21,000 people who were in Đà Nẵng, aiming to finish the tests by Saturday, August 1.
Disease control officials have identified four locations in Saigon as places where two confirmed COVID-19 cases visited. If you were also at these places during the same time frame, contact the HCDC or your local medical center to receive instructions on how to get tested for the virus.
1. Trieu An Hospital (9pm–10pm on July 21)
425 Kinh Duong Vuong, An Lac Ward, Binh Tan District.
2. City International Hospital (10am on July 21 to July 22)
3 Street 17A, Binh Tan District
3. Thanh Danh 2 Hotel (July 21 to July 22)
624 Nguyen Chi Thanh, Ward 4, D11
4. AEON Mall (July 22–26)
1 Street 17A, Binh Tan District
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