HCMC – In pandemic hotspots, it will be extremely hard to reduce the number of Covid-19 cases to zero. Therefore, the fight against the pandemic must be fast, strong and persistent, said Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

At a teleconference on the enhancement of the treatment of Covid patients on August 2, the minister stressed that the fourth wave of Covid had been showing extremely unpredictable developments on a large scale. The number of new cases has surged in just a short period, the local media reported. Many localities have come up with creative and effective anti-pandemic solutions, while many others have yet to anticipate possible scenarios while developing response plans. Although the Ministry of Health has repeatedly warned that the Delta coronavirus variant spreads easily and fast between individuals, many localities’ response plans have failed to keep up. Long asked localities to make more efforts in the fight against the pandemic, focusing on the testing and treatment work and paying more attention to ensuring security and social order. They must also prepare medical equipment, such as ventilators, oxygen and medicines and mobilize their resources, he said, noting that the State will provide support in emergency cases. To quickly separate Covid patients from the community, localities must prepare treatment plans. The Ministry of Health has called on private healthcare units to join the fight against the pandemic.