HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - The government has approved a proposal by Ho ChiMinh City to allow companies to directly negotiate with suppliers to purchasevaccines for their employees amid the largest COVID-19 outbreak in thecity. 

DeputyPrime Minister Vu Duc Dam said under the Government resolution onCOVID-19 vaccine purchases, enterprises were being encouraged to joinhands with the Government to find vaccine sources on the international marketand pay for vaccination costs for workers.

TheMinistry of Health will be responsible for licensing and testing thequality of the vaccines, and providing guidance to ensure safety.

NguyenVan Nen, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee, said that more than 70 percentof the population should be vaccinated to achieve herd immunity. “The cityhas established a working group to buy COVID-19 vaccines for residents.”

Morethan 7.2 million people aged 18 and above live in HCM City, and ofthis number, 1.6 million work in industrial parks. But only 140,000vaccine doses have been given, primarily to medical staff and others who areconsidered a priority.

TheDepartment of Health plans to set up another temporary hospital forCOVID-19 treatment for people with mild or moderate symptoms in Cu Chi district,according to Nen. 

The500-bed field hospital with more than 400 medical staff located in Nhon Tay commune willuse the existing infrastructure of Cu Chi Hospital.

Close contacts quarantined at home

Thecity’s authorities are considering allowing people classified asF1 (close contacts of COVID patients) to be quarantined athome instead of in concentrated quarantine areas, as the numberof F1 cases has continued to rise. 

Thecity’s Department of Health will pilot the quarantining of F1cases at home in some areas before expanding to other areas.It will also use technological solutions, in accordance with the law, tomonitor quarantined people at home.

DrNguyen Huu Hung, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, said that undercurrent Ministry of Health regulations, F1 cases must be placedin concentrated quarantine and F2 cases (contacts of F1)must quarantine at home while waiting for the F1 cases’ COVID-19test results.

Hungsaid that isolating F1 cases at home would help them feel morecomfortable and ease overloading in concentrated quarantinedareas.

However,not all home residences are eligible for isolation for F1s. The houseor apartment must have a separate room for the isolated person. The healthsector will evaluate each case for the final decision.

Dr.Truong Huu Khanh, an infectious-disease specialist, said it wouldbe feasible to quarantine F1 cases at home, but only about30 percent of the cases would be eligible. 

F1cases are classified as either high-risk or low-risk.Only low-risk F1 cases are allowed to be quarantined at home,according to Khanh.

Low-riskF1 cases are people who, for example, have visiteda supermarket or convenience store where a COVID patienthas visited, or those who live in the same building or samefloor as a COVID patient. 

Securitycameras inside stores or shops can be used to help determine whethersomeone should be classified as low-risk or high-risk, according toKhanh.

TheF1 cases quarantining at home should be supervised so that they donot leave the house. In additionto complying with preventive measures, the family and neighboursalso have a supervisory role. 

QuarantiningF1 cases at home can also reduce the risk of cross-infection that canoccur in centralised isolation areas. But family members must minimisecontact with the F1, Khanh said.

Thecity has taken serious measures and focused resources on battling thecurrent outbreak, but the number of cases is still increasing,and thus the number of F1 cases continues to rise. 

Inaddition, an unknown number of people who are asymptomatic are consideredpotential “silent transmitters" in the community.

Morethan 33,000 people are currently under quarantine in HCM City. Of thenumber, 11,970 are quarantined in concentrated quarantine facilities and21,057 at home and other accommodations. The city plans to expand the capacityof concentrated quarantine areas across the districts due to the risingnumber of cases.

Asof June 16 afternoon, the city had recorded more than 1,000community-transmitted cases since April 27, with the majority of cases recordedsince late May, making it the third biggest COVID hotspot in the country’sfourth wave.

Thecity has extended citywide social distancing in line with the Government’sDirective No 15 until the end of June amid the ongoing developments ofcoronavirus clusters in the city./.