Actively developing a pandemic prevention plan of “one step earlier, one level higher”

– On the afternoon of August 17, the Provincial People’s Committee held a 3-level online meeting on strengthening measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic in the province.

The meeting was connected with 11 sites in districts and city in the province and in communes, wards and townships in Lang Son city; districts of Van Lang, Cao Loc.

Mr. Ho Tien Thieu, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, Head of the Provincial Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control (the Steering Committee) chaired the meeting. Attending the meeting were Mrs. Doan Thi Hau, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Provincial People’s Council, and Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People’s Committee, members of the Provincial Steering Committee and the steering committees at all levels.

According to the report of the Provincial Steering Committee, from May 6, 2021 to August 16, 2021, the province recorded 152 cases of COVID-19, 3,568 F1 cases, 24,504 F2 cases. Currently, the province continues to monitor, treat and isolate 33 F0 cases, 239 F1 cases and 939 F2 cases. Lang Son ranked 39th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide in the number of COVID-19 cases. In particular, in Van Lang district, the pandemic development is complicated with a number of areas with many COVID-19 cases such as Tan Thanh with 19 F0 case; Na Sam town with 7 F0 (the original source of infection has not been identified).

Mr. Ho Tien Thieu, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee delivers a concluding speech

Regarding vaccination against COVID-19, from April 26, 2021 to August 16, 2021, the 113,652 doses/158,991 doses of vaccine received have been used, in which 17,652 people were vaccinated with 2 injections; 96,000 people were vaccinated with 1 injection. Currently, Lang Son ranks 14^th in the country in terms of the rate of vaccination for at least 1 dose/person aged 18 year-old at 20.56%.

The Steering Committee put forward the opinion that the risk of disease entering and spreading in the community was very large because the new strain of SARS-CoV-2 has the rapid spread and long incubation period; many COVID-19 cases were recorded from long-distance truck drivers transporting goods from pandemic areas to border gates in the province; a small part of people still has not been serious enough in pandemic prevention.

At the meeting, the delegates proposed a number of measures to improve the effectiveness of pandemic prevention and control such as tightening the management of long-distance drivers, specialized drivers and cases returned from infected areas; applying information technology in pandemic prevention and control; mobilizing socialization resources to support pandemic prevention and control in each locality.

Speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee emphasized that the pandemic development was very complicated, therefore, the pandemic prevention and control must always be carried out seriously, avoiding neglect. Infected areas needed to speed up tracing, isolating and zoning the pandemic, preventing the disease from spreading in the community; to maintain serious, close and effective operation of inter-sector checkpoints at gateways to the province and border gate areas.

He also requested the districts and city to promptly review and develop pandemic prevention and control plans following actual situation of the unit to actively and effectively prevent pandemic with the motto “one step sooner, one level higher. At the same time, the units need to speed up the progress of vaccination against COVID-19; continue to strengthen the implementation of “dual goals” of both effective pandemic prevention and socio-economic development.

For Van Lang district, the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee requested it to be proactive and flexible in pandemic prevention and control under the motto “4 on the spot”; to tighten management of long-distance drivers and specialized drivers to ensure the highest effectiveness in pandemic prevention and control at the border gate area, contributing to stable and safe import and export activities. In addition, the district needed to actively mobilize socialization resources to support pandemic prevention and control; to promptly support and ensure adequate supply of necessities to serve people’s life in quarantine and lockdown areas in the locality.