While the government is determined to ensure people’s health, it will also try to foster economic growth by providing support packages to businesses and residents, he said at a meeting.

"We need to review and make appropriate adjustments to economic and social goals amid the new normal, such as GDP growth and GDP per capita," he said.

Vietnam’s GDP growth in the second quarter fell to a 30-year low of 0.36 percent after the government imposed a nationwide social distancing campaign in April to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

As businesses resumed operations in May, the country was hit again by a second Covid-19 outbreak in late July with the central city of Da Nang as its epicenter.

Although experts have warned that the economy could contract this year with the resurgence of the virus, Phuc stressed that growth must still be the target.

Vietnam needs a suitable growth strategy for both the short and the long term as people adjust to life with the virus as the new normal, he said.

He asked the Socio-Economic Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam to evaluate the impacts of the pandemic and suggest solutions to reboot the economy.

Last year, GDP growth had hit 7.02 percent, the second highest growth figure in the last decade, after a record 7.08 percent in 2018.