Official Dispatch No. 1749/UBND-VX HCM City on strengthening measures for control of COVID-19

In the face of the complicated situation of COVID-19 pandemic in Ho Chi Minh City, in order to quickly control, localize and suppress the pandemic with the motto “Urgent - Fast - Fierce - Synchronized - Proactive";

The People's Committee of the City directs as follows:

1. To implement the social distancing in the City for the duration of 15 days, from 00:00 on May 31, 2021 according to the Directive No. 15/CT-TTg dated March 27, 2020 of the Prime Minister.

2. Particularly, Go Vap District and Thanh Loc Ward, District 12 shall implement the social distancing for the duration of 15 days, from 00:00 on May 31, 2021 according to the Directive No. 16/CT-TTg dated March 31, 2020 of the Prime Minister. The principles of the social distancing there are as follows: Each family isolates itself with other families, one residential group to other residential groups, one neighbourhood to other neighbourhoods, one ward to other wards; workshops and factories must maintain safe distances, perform disinfection, and their employees must wear masks in accordance with regulations; The people are required to stay at home, only leave home in case of necessity, such as to buy food, foodstuffs and medicine, emergency, or to work in agencies, factories, manufacturing facilities, factories and businesses providing essential goods and services that are not closed and other emergency cases; strictly observe the minimum distance of 2m when communicating; not gather over 2 people outside of offices, schools, hospitals and public places.

In cases of moving from another locality through Go Vap District and Thanh Loc Ward, District 12, the Department of Transport shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ho Chi Minh City Police Force, People's Committee of Go Vap District and People's Committee of District 12 in, promulgating the guiding document; setting up checkpoints, announcing prohibited or restricted routes on mass media in order that people know and comply with regulations.

3. The people are required to be calm, easy, to trust, support measures to prevent and control the pandemic, coordinate with the City government, strictly comply with the requirements and measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic according to the 5K guidance in Vietnamese (mask - distance - not gathering - disinfection - health declaration) of the Ministry of Health, particularly wear masks at public places and workplaces, only leave home in case of necessity; the people aged above 60 are required to stay at home all the time; only go to medical examination and treatment establishments in case of necessity; not gather over 05 people outside of offices, schools, hospitals and public places; keep a distance of at least 02m at public places.

The people with the symptoms and epidemiological factors related to COVID-19 pandemic must go to medical examination and treatment establishments for examination and screening as prescribed; make an honest medical declaration, and absolutely must not conceal your medical condition.

4. To continue suspending operations specified in the Official Dispatch No. 1641/UBND-VX dated May 21, 2021 and Official Dispatch No. 1737/UBND-VX dated May 28, 2021 of the People’s Committee of the City, to be specific: spa; beauty salons (hair cutting and styling for men and women, nail treatments...); massage parlors; sauna; cosmetic clinics and cosmetology hospitals; amusement parks, entertainment centers and places; music theater; dramatic theater; cinema; wedding venues; buffet-style catering services, dining with singing together or karaoke in any form; dancing halls; bars; karaoke; services of singing together; pub; beer club; places for electronic games, Internet access; tourist sites, sightseeing, monuments, museums, libraries (provision of documents via the internet is still permitted); activities at pedestrian streets, night markets, public parks; indoor sports facilities (gym, fitness, billiards, yoga, ...); sports centers; public sports training areas in the City; Particularly, outdoor sports facilities are not permitted to gather more than 5 people.

- Catering establishments are permitted to operate but must not to serve on-site. Only takeaway and online ordering are permitted. The deliverymen must fully implement pandemic prevention and control measures, especially wearing masks and keeping a distance of 2m while waiting to pick up the goods.

- Food processing establishments, including ready-to-eat food stores and stalls, ready-to-eat meal establishments, canteens and collective kitchens are allowed to operate but must comply with the guidance of the Food Safety Management Board of the City.

- Restaurants in hotels may operate to serve guests staying at the hotels. Arranging well-ventilated seats, ensuring the distance of at least 02 meters from others, serving 10 people at most at a time, and strictly complying pandemic prevention and control measures according to regulations of health agencies shall be required.

- Convenience stores are allowed to operate, but must comply with regulations on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control.

- For accommodation in the model of Homestay, AirBnb: Stop accepting guests to register for stay.

5. Suspending additionally the following activities: shopping malls; electronics supermarkets; games with prizes and casinos (in the hotel) in the locality; cosmetology activities performed in hospitals, general clinics, specialized clinics.

- Suspend all of religious ceremonies, festival activities at religious, belief and worship establishments.

- Suspend the procedures for issuance of citizen’s identity cards in the City.

The above contents shall be implemented from 00:00 on May 31, 2021 until another notice.

6. Postponing the 10^th grade entrance exam until another notice.

7. For the transportation in the City:

- For the operation of passenger transportation in the form of contract, tourism, transit, bus: All trips must transport no more than 50% of the capacity, and no more than 20 people/trip. Their passengers are required to wear masks, alternately sit in separate seat rows and to declare medical declaration according to regulations. Vehicles must be equipped with disinfectant solutions for passengers and must be disinfected before, after each trip and at the end of each day.

- For the operation of inter-provincial passenger transportation along a fixed route: Ensuring that vehicles transport no more than 50% of the capacity, and no more than 10 people/trip. Their passengers are required to wear masks, alternately sit in separate seat rows and to declare medical declaration according to regulations. Vehicles must be equipped with disinfectant solutions for passengers and must be disinfected before, after each trip and at the end of each day.

- The shuttle bus for workers and employees must be disinfected before the operation. All people on the shuttle bus must wear masks, wash their hands with disinfectant solutions. The heads of units is required to issue specific and fixed regulations on routes, people sitting on the shuttle bus for the tracing work when COVID-19 cases are confirmed. All trips must transport no more than 50% of the capacity, and no more than 20 people/trip. Their passengers are required to alternately sit in separate seat rows and to declare medical declaration according to regulations.

- For passenger transportation by taxi, car with a capacity of under 09 seats each that apply technology: Continuing the operation, comply with the 5K guidance in Vietnamese (mask - distance - not gathering - disinfection - health declaration) of the Ministry of Health and directions of the Ministry of Transport; refuse to transport passengers who do not comply with regulations; not use the air conditioning system and open car glass during the passenger transportation. Their passengers must carry out medical declaration and wear masks according to regulations.

For waterway navigation vessels, ships, ferries: Ensuring that vehicles transport no more than 50% of the capacity and their passengers wear masks. Vehicles must be equipped with disinfectant solutions for passengers and must be disinfected before, after each trip and at the end of each day.

8. Department of Health is assigned to:

- Take samples for testing on a large scale, in which the priority of taking testing samples is given to members of polling stations where members of “Hoi thanh truyen giao Phuc Hung” (Phuc Hung religious Mission) go to vote; all workers, employees of export processing zones, industrial parks, high-tech parks.

- Direct the City Center for Disease Control to coordinate with the University of Medicine Pham Ngoc Thach and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City in mobilizing final-year students to collect testing samples, ensuring a capacity of 50,000 samples/day.

- Direct clinics and hospitals to strictly implement procedures and strictly manage, avoid cross-contamination in medical examination and treatment establishments; apply electronic medical declaration; strictly control, require mandatory medical declaration for everyone when entering medical examination and treatment establishments; ensure only one caregiver per patient; completely stop visiting patients in hospitals. Strict regulations on patient reception are required to be issued. In case of detecting any COVID-19 case in the inpatient area of a hospital, the entire hospital shall be blocked until the situation is under control. Upon detecting any suspected cases by screening, the hospital must stop receiving patients for disinfecting and cleaning such areas.

9. The Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Department of Industry and Trade, and the Department of Tourism are assigned to review and grasp the difficulties of enterprises, small-sized manufacturing establishments, and impacts on employees' jobs to launch solutions, proactively and timely provide support in accordance with the City's support packages.

10. The Department of Industry and Trade is assigned to direct supermarket systems in the City, especially the Saigon Co.op to:

- Increase the adequate supply of goods, stabilize prices to serve the people, prevent shortage of goods; encourage online purchases.

- Implement the distance at the supermarket systems in the City in the direction of dividing into batches with 20 people at most in each batch; carry out medical declaration, check body temperature for all people entering and leaving the supermarkets.

- Keep the temperature of air conditioners at supermarkets and convenience stores not lower than 25^oC and ensure at the same time ventilation, hygiene and preservation of goods.

11. The Department of Home Affairs is assigned to advise the People's Committee of the City in promulgating documents guiding state agencies and units to arrange for cadres, civil servants and public employees to work from home; only come to the offices in case of necessity such as medical care, combat duty, agency duty, supply of essential goods and services, handling of confidential documents and other necessary tasks as required; promote the organization of online meetings. Their heads shall be responsible for the infection of their cadres, civil servants, public employees and employees by not strictly observing the regulations on prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic at offices.

Companies, enterprises and corporations, including foreign-invested companies are encouraged to minimize direct activities, and change the way of working to online working, only go to offices only when necessary.

12. The Department of Information and Communications is assigned to continue promoting communication on prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic on the mass media and social networking platforms, focusing on information about positive results, good models, practices and the spirit of community cooperation in the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic; instruct the people not to comment or share information relating to the COVID-19 pandemic that has not been announced by functional agencies to avoid public confusion; to promulgate guidance to instruct departments, branches, the People's Committee of Thu Duc city and districts to apply information technology, promote online meetings, handle administrative procedures online to serve people, completed in 03 working days.

13. The City Police Department are assigned to coordinate with the Department of Health, People’s Committees of Thu Duc city and districts in quick and resolutely putting all resources and using all solutions to thoroughly handle the current chains of infection in the City, in which to focus on the infection chain of “Hoi thanh truyen giao Phuc Hung” (Phuc Hung religious Mission); to quickly trace, apply appropriate measures to all cases of risk, contact with patients and people who go to at-risk places that need to be traced according to the announcement of the Center for Disease Control of the City or local health. These cases are recommended to quickly report to the local health agencies according to regulations for medical supervision as prescribed, not to spread the disease (if they are infected).

14. Heads of departments, branches, sectors, units, Chairpersons of the People's Committee of Thu Duc city and districts are required to:

- Not leave the City without the agreement of the Chairperson of the City People's Committee.

- Establish rapid response teams to respond to the situation of COVID-19 pandemic in the locality.

- Suspend all meetings, non-essential crowded events; strengthen the application of information technology to exchange and work online; do not hold meeting with more than 20 attendees in one room.

- Compulsorily check body temperature, carry out medical declaration and make the lists of people coming to offices and contacting for work of the agencies and units for the tracing work when necessary.

- For meetings and events: Attendees must wear masks, ensure the distance of at least 02m; not shake hands; wash or disinfect hands before and after a meeting. Cleaning meeting room, disinfecting surfaces and objects in contact with attendees after each meeting are also required.

- Take responsibility before the City People's Committee if there are more than 20 people in a meeting or conference. Cadres, civil servants and public employees of Ho Chi Minh City must be exemplary in complying with regulations on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control of the health sector.

- Inspect and supervise the implementation of directions of the City People's Committee and strictly handle acts of violations.

All agencies, units, the whole political system are required to focus, not to be subjective, to work together to solve the assigned work in a timely manner, ensuring the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic./.