Official Dispatch 2718/UBND-VX 2021 on continuing to impose the social distancing measure in Ho Chi Minh City

In recent days, the COVID-19 pandemic in the City still remains complicated. Specifically, since April 27, the City has recorded 142,618 confirmed cases. There are 32,148 patients currently under treatment, including 1,851 critically ill patients on ventilator.

In the implementation of the Government's Resolution No. 86/NQ-CP dated August 06, 2021, on urgent COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control measures to implement the Resolution No. 30/2021/QH15 dated July 28, 2021 of the 15^th National Assembly and the Plan No. 2715/KH-UBND dated August 15, 2021 of the Municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, on the implementation of urgent measures to prevent and control COVID-19 pandemic in the City in line with the Government's Resolution No. 86/NQ-CP dated August 06, 2021; and in order to thoroughly control the pandemic, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee directs as follows:

1. The social distancing measure in line with the Prime Minister's Directive No. 16/CT-TTg dated March 31, 2020 shall continue to be imposed in the entire City from 00:00 on August 16 to the end of September 15, 2021, on the principle that “everyone stays at the place of residence”.

2. Heads of Departments, sectors and branches, Chairpersons of People's Committees of Thu Duc City and other districts shall, based on their assigned functions, tasks and competence, continue to focus on directing the drastic and effective implementation of directions of the Prime Minister and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control; the Directive No. 12-CT/TU dated July 22, 2021, the Plan No. 2715/KH-UBND dated August 15, 2021 of the Municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and other documents promulgated since July 01, 2021 by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee; with attention paid on the following principal contents:

2.1 Continuing to control the movement of citizens

- From 6:00 to 18:00 every day:

+ To continue to control the movement in the City of groups of subjects permitted to operate under the Official Dispatch No. 2468/UBND-VX dated July 23, 2021 and Official Dispatches No. 2522, 2523/UBND-VX dated July 28, 2021 of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

+ The following subjects are allowed to operate: Food production establishments (such as bread, tofu, vermicelli, noodle soup, etc.); notarial practice organizations; companies providing the following services: security; maintaining, repairing and responding to infrastructure and equipment systems of agencies, buildings and condominiums; insurance (only carrying out activities related to assessment, making claim dossiers and settling insurance benefits for customers), air ticket offices; private clinics and target groups allowed to transport essential goods including shippers with technology application management allowed for circulation and transportation of essential goods between districts, Thu Duc City, who ensure pandemic prevention and control measures, contactless payment, delivery and receipt, and have identification characteristics according to the Official Dispatch No. 2491/UBND-DT dated July 26, 2021 of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee; persons in charge of delivering and receiving goods of food processing establishments, food and foodstuff retail stores. Note: The above-mentioned subjects must have identification signs when traveling on road according to regulations.

+ State agencies and units, political organizations, socio-political organizations (including central-level agencies and units located in the City) must operate with no more than one fourth (1/4) of the cadres, civil servants, public employees and employees on site (except for military and health sector forces that have to ensure 100% capacity in exercising their pandemic management functions). Units with specialized requirements must send written documents to the provincial-level Department of Internal Affairs to submit to Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee for decision.

- From 18:00 to 6:00 the next day:

All citizens in the City are requested to stay at home; stores and business establishments must be temporarily closed; except for the following cases:

+ Vaccination, emergency, forces in charge of pandemic prevention and control, or those authorized by the local authorities and functional agencies.

+ Employees of supermarkets, stabilization stores, and convenience stores that are allowed to travel on road to prepare logistics, arrange goods and clean and disinfect business areas (according to the Official Dispatch No. 2654/UBND-KT dated August 09, 2021 of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee).

+ The flight crews on a business trip according to the plan of the licensed flight; officers and employees of the units affiliated to the Vietnam Airlines Corporation in the South region to perform the task of serving flights carrying cargo, medical equipment and vaccines.

+ Employees of enterprises producing and providing essential services (food, foodstuffs, medical supplies and equipment), persons delivering medical supplies and equipment such as oxygen cylinders for COVID-19 patients who are in quarantine or home treatment (including asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases), COVID-19 receipt and treatment establishments.

+ Employees of units providing meals for charity kitchens, treatment establishments, quarantine establishments, hospitals, and medical establishments for pandemic prevention and control.

+ Officials, reporters, editors of newspapers and radio stations performing political tasks in the City, including the publication of newspapers.

- Postal transportation services and forces performing the task of providing KT1 postal services (serving Party and State agencies, confidential documents).

+ The urban environmental sanitation workforce; forces to handle incidents on  electricity, water, information systems, traffic works and technical infrastructure.

+ Vehicles transporting essential goods; vehicles transporting forces performing pandemic prevention and control tasks; buses transporting workers at enterprises that are implementing “1 route - 2 destinations”; vehicles transporting materials and goods of logistics enterprises serving production, import and export goods, and medical equipment. Cars used for medical support (ambulances), taxis licensed by the provincial-level Department of Transport to transport people in necessary cases; drivers and service staff traveling with these vehicles.

+ Petrol retail stores at 12 main gateways of the City.

2.2 Carrying out effective and persuasive propaganda in each locality, unit, residential area, household, and individual so that they can properly understand the characteristics, nature, situation, risks and danger of the pandemic, agree and strictly abide by the social distancing measure throughout the City in line with the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 16/CT-TTg dated March 31, 2020.

3. The municipal center for receiving and supporting essential goods to serve people facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic shall prepare 1 million relief packages; coordinate with the People's Committees of districts and Thu Duc City to review and provide workers, students, and freelancers living in bedsits, accommodation for workers and the poor, etc. with a welfare package that is “sufficient in quantity and quality for each subject”, the cost of renting rooms, organize vaccinations so that people in these areas can rest assured to stay in their places of residence during the social distancing period.

4. Speeding up the vaccination schedule: to ensure that by September 15, 2021, over 70% of the City citizens (over 18 years old) will receive the 1^st dose of vaccines, 15% of the City citizens will receive the 2^nd dose; complete the first dose of vaccines for the remaining 15% of workers in export processing zones, industrial parks, and high-tech zones.

5. Focusing on effective implementation of F0 care and treatment at home and in treatment establishments, in which focus on implementing the “home-based care” package in home monitoring and treatment.

6. Focusing on testing with focus, practicality and efficiency to narrow the “red zone”, “orange zone”, “yellow zone”, and expand the “green zone” in the area; striving to control the pandemic in the following districts: Can Gio, Cu Chi, Nha Be, Phu Nhuan, District 5, District 7, District 11.

7. Enterprises shall actively review the conditions for ensuring the requirements for pandemic prevention and control provided by the Government and Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to register with the People's Committees of Thu Duc City and other districts; Management Boards of export processing zones, industrial parks; Management Boards of high-tech parks on for operation according to the plans mentioned in the Plan No. 2715/KH-UBND dated August 15, 2021 of the Municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in order to maintain the safe production.

Heads of Departments, sectors and branches; Chairpersons of People’s Committees of Thu Duc City and other districts, and enterprises located in the City are requested to focus on implementing the above-mentioned requirements; timely report difficulties arising in the course of implementation; take responsibility before the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City for any cases of non-observance within their assigned areas and management.

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City hereby calls on all City citizens to continue promoting consensus and joint efforts in pandemic prevention and control; to “try harder, more united and determined” in order to overcome this difficult period./.