Hanoi (VNA)ꦬ – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has urgedthe entire political system and people to take a more swift and drastic approach todriving back COVID-19 pandemic because it could spread anytime if guard is let down.

During a meeting in Hanoi on May 17 between permanent Governmentmembers and ministries and agencies, PM Chinh admitted that during thisoutbreak, new variants are spreading more quickly in cities and provinces, especiallyin industrial parks, putting pressure on the country ahead of the upcomingelections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and People’sCouncils for the 2021-2026 tenure.

He attributed that to limited management of immigrants, especiallyillegal entries, while several agencies and localities fail to stay vigilant andlack experience in coping with the disease.

✤ However, he affirmed that authorities from the central to local levels havetaken synchronous, drastic and timely actions to fight the pandemic.Commendation and disciplinary actions in the work were carried out promptly.

The pandemic is now under control nationwide without any new clusterwith unclear origin, he said. He highlighted the dual goal of promoting socio-economicdevelopment and effectively fighting the pandemic. As preparations for theupcoming elections are in the right place and on schedule, taking care of people’shealth is a foremost task, he added.

To meet such target, he asked agencies and sectors to adapt withthe new situation in the spirit of “fighting the pandemic is like fighting theenemy”, learn from experience from the previous three outbreaks, and continuefollowing the 5K message as recommended by the Health Ministry.

🍸 Ministries, agencies and localities were required to poolresources to step up COVID-19 testing, carry out “vaccine strategy”, use moderntechnology as instructed by the Ministry of Information and Communications tofight the pandemic, and prepare medical supplies and financial resources for theeffort, contributing to protecting public health and national interests.

They were assigned to devise scenarios for any case, raisepublic awareness of the anti-pandemic work, and spread effective models in theregard.

🐻 The Government leader also directed agencies and localities to flexibly applythe State regulations considering their real situation, stay calm and not letguard down.

Participants at the event looked at mechanisms, policies and theefficiency of measures to fight the pandemic, reviewed the compliance with directions by the Secretariat, State President, Government, Prime Minister, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, and the HealthMinistry, as well as the involvement of ministries and agencies in the fight. Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said as of 12pm on May 17,Vietnam recorded 4,242 infection cases, including 1,018 new ones from April 27, and 37 deaths./.