Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh convened an urgent meeting with leaders of six Southern provinces of An Giang, Binh Phuoc, Dong Thap, Kien Giang, Long An, and Tay Ninh amid swift and complex evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presides over an urgent meeting with leaders of
six southern provinces amid complex evolution of COVID-19, An Giang, May 9, 2021.
Photo: VGP

Over the past ten days, Viet Nam confirmed 257 community infection cases of COVID-19 in 23 cities and provinces, all linked to five outbreaks, raising the national patient tally to 3,245.

In addition, illegal immigration remained complicated during the last week and it is expected that the number of entrants from Cambodia will continue rising in the coming days as the neighboring country has lifted lockdown, according to Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long.

He urged localities to continue tightening land and sea borders and stay prepared for quarantining a great number of entrants right at border areas.

PM Pham said the meeting aimed to evaluate the pandemic situation and design appropriate and effective response measures as the pandemic is spreading swiftly and complicatedly.

The Government chief named four reasons leading to the recent surge of local infections, including occurrence of negligence and subjectivity, improper implementation of preventive measures, emergence of multiple outbreaks, and complex developments of the pandemic in several neighboring countries.

The risk of nationwide pandemic is now clear and high, requiring tougher and more proactive measures, Pham stressed.

He demanded local leaders of all levels demonstrate the highest sense of responsibility and they shall be fined if the pandemic spreads widely. Meanwhile, local authorities must sustain vigilance and focus on early detection of infections and rapid isolation to quickly stamp out the outbreaks and prevent new ones.

Competent authorities were ordered to strictly control immigration to prevent illegal entrants and stayed well prepared for the scenario of 30,000 infections./.