Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is currently clearof any community transmission of COVID-19, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed,and this is an important condition for the country to attract investment anddevelopment resources.

He made the comment while chairing a meeting ofpermanent Government members on May 15 to look into the prevention and control ofthe pandemic.

The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Preventionand Control reported that Vietnam hasn’t seen any new community infections for 28days and transmission risks in the community are “very low” yet still latent.

The pandemic remains unpredictable in manycountries in the region and the world. The risk of transmission from elsewhere willgrow as international flights gradually resume, more flights are conducted torepatriate Vietnamese from overseas, and investors and experts fromCOVID-19-hit countries come to Vietnam.

In particular, it is quite difficult toradically control travel over border crossings, so the risk of imported cases thatmay then cause community infections always exist, according to the committee.

Addressing the meeting, PM Phuc said that forthe past month or so, measures to fight COVID-19 while promoting production,business, and social security have been carried out in an effective manner and preventeddomestic economic disruption.

Applauding the efforts of the health sector andothers and authorities at all levels in COVID-19 prevention, control, andtreatment, the PM said the repatriation of Vietnamese people stranded overseas hasled to an increase in coronavirus infections but relevant agencies havecoordinated well to quarantine these people and prevent community transmission.

He also took the occasion to tell overseasVietnamese to remain calm, comply with the host countries’ health policies, andavoid rushing home, which may create an unsafe environment and difficulties forlocal anti-COVID-19 efforts.

Repeating the need to stay vigilant as there isstill no vaccine, the PM said that to reach the dual targets of economicdevelopment and fighting the pandemic means measures must stay in place toprevent the disease from spreading from other countries, including maintainingthe suspension of the entry of foreigners and requiring foreign experts andthose arriving for official purposes be quarantined under the supervision ofthe health sector.

The Ministry of National Defence must furthertighten the management of border residents’ travel over border crossings, and thehealth sector and relevant agencies need to step up IT application inprevention and control and maintain rapid response teams to quickly detectinfections and seal off affected areas. 

Factories, businesses, and individuals shouldboost production, foreign trade, and domestic tourism while preparing to reopenthe country to foreign tourists, initially those from countries that havecontrolled the pandemic well, the PM said.

It is also necessary to create the necessary conditionsfor foreign experts, skilled workers, and students to come to Vietnam, whilefostering exports, especially of medical face masks and COVID-19 test kits madein Vietnam, and developing a vaccine and a treatment regimen./.