Residents in Hai Duong are happy when social distancing ends (Photo: VNA) OnJanuary 27, the first community COVID-19 case in Hai Duong province’s ChiLinh City was detected – Patient 1,552 – a worker in close contact with awoman who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after arriving inJapan.
Accordingto the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Chi Linhcity was the largest outbreak in the country since the pandemic began earlylast year with 383 confirmed cases out of 684 cases reported in Hai Duong province.
Theoutbreak started at a company with more than 2,300 workers and then spread tothe community, which caused difficulties in controlling the infections.
Asthe outbreak was gradually controlled, Hai Duong province’s authorities decidedto end the lockdowns and province-wide social distancing, entering a “newnormal” phase with twin tasks of drastically fighting the coronavirus andtaking action for socio-economic development.
Secretary ofthe Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee Pham Xuan Thang applauded efforts madeby authorities, health experts and people in fighting the pandemic,particularly contributions of people on the front lines.
Besideslifting the lockdown in Chi Linh city and Cam Giang district and the endof province-wide social distancing, the Hai Duong Province People’s Committeeon March 2 decided to divide the localities in the province into two groupsunder different restrictions depending on the COVID-19 risks.
UntilMarch 17, four high-risk localities, including Hai Duong city, Kinh Montownship, Cam Giang district and Kim Thanh, will be placed under theGovernment’s Directive 15, the highest level of social distancing firstintroduced in March last year when the country entered nationwide lockdown. Thedirective prescribes limiting large gatherings, meetings with over 20 peoplein-doors or 10 people outdoors, maintaining two metres distance betweenindividuals in public places, non-essential services are shut down, publicpassenger transport is halted, and travel is heavily restricted.
Theremaining eight localities in the province will follow the less restrictiveGovernment’s Directive 19 on social distancing norms.
HaiDuong will continue to halt festivals, religious rituals, sporting events andother unimportant events that require large gatherings in public.
HaiDuong now has about 11,000 such teams with the participation of about 25,000members.
Then,authorities need to assess the connection between the other areas and the areaswhere outbreaks happened.
Eachlocality in the province should also review their preventive measures andstrictly follow the Health Ministry’s '5K' message as the pandemic was stilldeveloping worldwide. Provinces with industrial zones like Hai Duong werealways more vulnerable to disease risks./.
VNA
