New approaches and measures should be adopted as the fight against COVID-19 may last long since a cure for the disease is still beyond grasp, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.  

The video-teleconference between the Government and local leaders
on COVID-19 response, Ha Noi, July 30, 2021

Pham made the point on July 30 at a video-teleconference on COVID-19 response between the Government and localities. 

According to PM Pham, Viet Nam has gone nearly 100 days since the fourth wave of COVID-19 resurgence broke out in late April. However, the disease outbreak remains complicated especially in Ho Chi Minh City and several southern and central provinces. Similarily, the pandemic has also evolved complicatedly in Asia in general and the Southeast Asian region in particular. 

As there has been no efficient cure to the virus, the fight against COVID-19 will be longer despite vaccination efforts in full force. 

Against that backdrop, he underlined the necessity to roll out new approaches, new tasks, and new solutions to realize the ‘dual goals’ of disease prevention and economic recovery. 

According to PM Pham, the Government will issue a resolution on urgent measures on COVID-19 prevention and control. 

The Ministry of Health forecast that in the coming time, infections would continue its rising course before going down, however still at a high rate. Accordingly, mandatory social distancing rules must remain in place in line with the Prime Minister's Directive No. 16.  

The ministry suggested the deployment of more medical workers to treatment facilities, the strict implementation of preventive measures to reduce infections and fatalities, and the speeding up of vaccination process.

As of early July 30, the national tally of COVID-19 patients reached 133,405, of whom 31,780 got recovered. Among patients under treatment, 346 are being cared for in ICUs, 19 treated with ECMO. The country's death toll was 1,022./.