Resolution 145/NQ-CP 2021 adjusting regimes and policies in COVID-19 prevention and control

RESOLUTION

Adjusting, amending and supplementing some regimes and policies in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control

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THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Resolution No. 30/2021/QH15 dated July 28, 2021, on the first session of the 15^th National Assembly;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No 138/2016/ND-CP dated October 01, 2016 on promulgating the working regulation of the Government;

Pursuant to the Resolution No. 86/NQ-CP dated August 06, 2021 of the Government 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;

At the proposal of the Minister of Health and opinions from members of the Government,

RESOLVES:

On the complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic that threatens people’s health and life, the Government resolves to adjust, amend and supplement a number of contents on regimes and policies in COVID-19 prevention and control as follows:

Article 1. To adjust the regime for persons who participate in COVID-19 prevention and control at units and localities with a high number of COVID-19 infections

1. The pandemic prevention and control allowance of VND 450,000/person/day shall be applied to persons who directly examine, diagnose, treat and care for the COVID-19 cases and suspected cases in the facilities receiving and treating COVID-19 patients, except for the case specified at Point a, Clause 3 of this Article.

2. The pandemic prevention and control allowance of VND 300,000/person/day shall be applied to persons who work at the facilities receiving and treating COVID-19 patients, including:

a) Persons performing duties related to infection control;

b) Persons cleaning, disinfecting and killing pathogens, collecting and disposing of tools after using them for COVID-19 patients;

c) Persons washing cloth, doctor’s clothes and COVID-19 patient’s clothes;

d) Persons collecting waste, cloth, chemical bottles and containers, domestic waste, medical waste;

dd) Persons performing duties of protection.

3. The following persons shall be entitled to the pandemic prevention and control allowance of VND 300,000/person/day:

a) Persons carrying out epidemiological surveillance, medical surveillance, treatment surveillance of COVID-19 patients at health stations of communes, wards and townships (including mobile health stations and groups);

b) Persons collecting and pooling samples, separating samples and persons directly carrying out SARS-CoV-2 tests.

c) Persons cleaning equipment and conducting medium preparation for the SARS-CoV-2 laboratories;

d) Persons transiting COVID-19 patients and patient samples;

dd) Persons transiting, preserving and handling dead bodies of persons infected with SARS-CoV-2;

4. The pandemic prevention and control allowance of VND 225,000/person/day shall be applied to persons who work at the facilities receiving and treating COVID-19 patients (including officers, soldiers of the People’s Army and People’s Public Security reinforced to provinces and cities) other than those specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article.

5. Students of universities, colleges, and technical schools in the health sector, persons with medical professions not enjoying salary from the budget, who are mobilized or voluntarily participate in COVID-19 prevention and control at the facilities receiving and treating COVID-19 patients shall be:

a) Entitled to one of the allowances as for health staff when performing the tasks specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 of this Article;

b) Entitled to the meal rate of VND 80,000/person/day; expenses for daily living needs of VND 40,000/person/day.

Article 2. To amend and supplement some regimes for persons who participate in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control

1. Officers, soldiers of the People’s Army and People’s Public Security; students of schools belong to the People’s Army and People’s Public Security reinforced to provinces and cities to perform tasks of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control that have not been specified in the Government’s Resolution No. 16/NQ-CP dated February 08, 2021, prescribing the expenses for medical quarantine, medical examination and treatment and some specific regulations in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control shall be entitled to the pandemic prevention and control allowance of  VND 150,000 /person/day according to the actual number of days participating in the pandemic prevention in accordance with the competent authorities’ decisions.

2. COVID-19 patients being treated in Intensive Care Units, departments with intensive care beds, and Intensive Care Centers, who are prescribed a suitable therapeutic diet, eating through a catheter, intravenous meals, shall be guaranteed by the state budget according to actual costs, but not exceeding VND 250,000/person/day.

3. The specific allowance of VND 12,000/injection (not exceeding VND 240,000/person/day) shall be applied to the entire injection team when implementing vaccination against COVID-19 in the free vaccination program.

4. The State budget shall pay expenses for renting accommodation (accommodation establishments) or concentrated staying according to regulations on working-trip allowances for officials, medical staff, workers, pupils, students, and volunteers (while working at the facilities receiving and treating COVID-19 patients), travel expenses (transportation) when participating in the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic.

5. In addition to the pandemic prevention and control allowance during pandemic prevention period in localities, cadres, civil servants, public employees, employees participating in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control in other localities whose meals and accommodations have been arranged by localities, shall be entitled to the difference between the level of accommodation allowance under the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 on work-trip allowances and conference expenditures and the meal rate of VND 80,000 /person/day as arranged by the localities.

6. The meal rate of VND 80,000/person/day shall be applied to persons held in custody or temporary detention, inmates, detainees, students in custody houses, temporary detention camps, prisons, compulsory education centers and reformatories who are infected with COVID-19 (F0) or must be quarantined (F1).

7. Funding sources:

a) The state budget shall be arranged in accordance with the current law on state budget and decentralization of state budget. The central budget shall support the budget of difficult localities which cannot balance the budget according to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 482/QD-TTg dated March 29, 2021 on rules for provision of targeted supports from the central budget to local budgets for COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control and replacing documents (if any).

The regimes and policies for volunteers (students of universities, colleges and technical schools in the health sector, persons with medical professions who do not receive salary from the mobilized budget) shall be guaranteed by the state budget.

b) Aid, funding and support from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals and other lawful capital sources.

Article 3. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Health shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant authorities in, guiding the implementation of this Resolution. In the course of implementation, decisions, directives, official telegrams, official dispatches and other forms of documents within competence may be used to prescribe and organize the implementation of the contents specified in this Resolution.

2. Agencies and units assigned to assume the prime responsibility for prevention and control of the pandemic, medical examination and treatment and concentrated quarantine shall be responsible for paying fully and promptly the following subjects for the regimes specified in Articles 1 and 2 of the Resolution:

a) Subjects under the management of such agencies and units.

b) Subjects under the management of other relevant agencies and units in the localities; superior agencies and units, and other localities’ agencies and units sent to support pandemic prevention and control at the agencies and units (if any). In case an agency or unit that decides to mobilize (send) persons to participate in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control can self-ensure the funding source to pay for the pandemic prevention regime from lawful revenue and the source of contributions from organizations and individuals, agencies and units assigned to assume COVID-19 prevention and control are not required to pay such regimes;

c) Collaborators and volunteers participating in prevention and control of the pandemic, concentrated quarantine at the agencies and units.

3. Persons participating in the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic who are entitled to the different allowances under Articles 1 and 2 of this Resolution shall be entitled to the highest allowance.

Article 4. Implementation provision

1. This Resolution takes effect from the signing date to the end of December 31, 2022.

2. The regimes specified in Article 1 of this Resolution shall be implemented for persons participating in the prevention and control of COVID-19 pandemic at the facilities receiving and treating COVID-19 patients in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong Province, and Dong Nai Province, Long An Province and the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases from August 01, 2021 to the end of October 31, 2021.

If the subject has received supports, but the support level is lower than the support level specified in this Resolution, they shall retrospectively receive the difference.

The payment shall be implemented according to the actual number of working days which is the number of days participating in COVID-19 prevention and control as assigned by the competent authority, including day-offs, public holidays, Tet holidays.

 Other subjects shall continue to enjoy the regimes under the Government’s Resolution No. 16/NQ-CP dated February 08, 2021, prescribing the expenses for medical quarantine, medical examination and treatment and some specific regulations in COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control and Clause 1 of the Government’s Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP dated June 06, 2021 on the Government's Regular Meeting in May 2021.

2. The regimes specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Resolution shall be applied from the date on which officers, soldiers of the People’s Army and People’s Public Security; students of schools belong to the People’s Army and People’s Public Security are sent to provinces and cities to perform tasks of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control according to the competent authorities’ decisions.

3. The regimes specified in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Resolution shall be applied from the date of issuing the decisions on the establishment of the facilities receiving and treating COVID-19 patients.

Before the effective date of this Resolution, the meal expenses of the subjects specified in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Resolution shall be paid according to actual expenses, but not exceeding VND 250,000 /person/day. In case the payment has been paid by funding and supports sources from organizations and individuals, the proportion of payment from the state budget shall be reduced accordingly.

4. The regimes specified in Clause 3, Article 2 of this Resolution shall be applied to Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong Province, Dong Nai Province, Long An Province from August 01, 2021 to the end of October 31, 2021.

5. The regimes specified in Clauses 4 and 5, Article 2 of this Resolution shall be applied from February 08, 2021 (the effective date of the Resolution No. 16/NQ-CP).

6. The regimes specified in Clause 6, Article 2 of this Resolution shall be applied from the effective date of this Resolution.

Before the effective date of this Resolution, the meal expenses of the subjects specified in Clause 6, Article 2 of this Resolution shall be paid according to actual expenses, but not exceeding VND 80,000/person/day. In case the payment has been paid by funding and supports sources from organizations and individuals, the proportion of payment from the state budget shall be reduced accordingly.

 Article 5. Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and central affiliated cities shall take responsibility for the implementation of this Resolution./.

On behalf of the Government

For the Prime Minister

The Deputy Prime Minister

Le Minh Khai