Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son on May 7 signed a document requiring that hospitals under the Ministry of Health, the health departments of centrally-run cities and provinces, the health agencies of other sectors, and hospitals at universities further strengthen their COVID-19 prevention measures, in particular at medical examination and treatment facilities.
The ministry also asked that health facilities swiftly review and fine-tune their plans to meet COVID-19 pandemic prevention efforts in accordance with the relevant directions from the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
It was also underlined that central-level and provincial hospitals must focus on improving their capacity in SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus testing using the RT-PCR method in order to be ready to respond to any situation.
Random COVID-19 testing should be conducted periodically on medical staff at screening and quarantine areas and in other high-risk areas, as well as on patients being treated in emergency, emergency resuscitation, intensive care, and infectious disease units, and other high-risk departments.
Medical facilities should restrict the transportation of patients to higher-level establishments.
The discharge of any patients must be properly notified to the health departments of the localities where they reside, in order to continue to manage the quarantine and testing of the patients and their relatives, in line with COVID-19 prevention regulations.
Directors of hospitals and medical establishments are required to take responsibility for managing and directing staff to strictly follow the Ministry of Health’s 5K message: khau trang (face masks), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distancing), khong tu tap (no gatherings), and khai bao y te (health declarations), take personal protective measures, and avoid any travel to high-risk areas such as entertainment venues, cinemas, bars, and karaoke parlours.
