HCMC imposes harsh punishment for not wearing facemasks in public places

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has asked district authorities and relevant agencies to impose punishment on those who refuse to wear facemasks in public places violating the Covid-19 prevention regulation.
People should wear facemasks in public venues to prevent Covid-19 (Photo: SGGP)
People should wear facemasks in public venues to prevent Covid-19 (Photo: SGGP)
In its document to the related agencies, the chairman of Thu Duc City People’s Committee and chairpersons of district people’s committees on the battle against Covid-19, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee requested to strictly carry out the direction of the Prime Minister, the National Steering Board of Covid-19 Prevention, the Ministry of Health and the city Party Committee.
All agencies and local administrators should not have relaxed behaviors to the deadly virus especially with the emergence of new variant.
All above-mentioned bodies must carry out tracking measures, testing on related cases and 21-day isolation. Moreover, people are encouraged to voluntarily declare their health status in nearby medical centers especially those having traveled through Covid-19- hit provinces and had close contact with Covid-19 cases.
People are advised to install contact tracing application Bluezone on smartphones which warns if users are in close contact with people in high risk of coronavirus transmission. Finally, people should use online transaction.
Mandatory donning facemasks and keeping distance at public places and high-risk venues such as hospitals, markets, supermarkets, factories, bus stations, ports, airports, public transportation vehicles.
The People’s Committee in HCMC proposed departments to continue implementing the safety criteria in prevention of Covid-19. The municipal Department of Health in coordination with the Department of Industry and Trade, the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) and the Management board of Saigon Hi-tech Park and the Labor Union should provide detailed guidance for all people.
Additionally, competent agencies should warn people not to return their hometown which is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.
The People’s Committee predicted not many laborers and immigrants will return their hometown but stay in the southern metropolis to welcome Tet holiday ( the Lunar New Year); therefore, it proposed the Department of Industry and Trade to prepare enough commodities to meet the growing demand on the special occasion.
The health sector must keep an eye on the development of the disease as well prepare enough facilities for use in hospitals, such as test kits, facemasks, and personal protective equipment and provide training for health workers in preparation for complicated situations in the next time. Quarantine wards are ready to receive contacts of Covid-19 people.
The city health authority must instruct medical centers to separate patients; plus, the health sector should increase screening for early detection of people contracting Covid-19 as well as curb cross-infection in medical centers.
People’s committees in district have been asked to tighten monitor on people in quarantine wards and at home. People under quarantine must wear facemasks and not contact with others.
The city People’s Committee emphasized to contain community transmissions due to the spread of the virus from isolation wards to the community especially from hotels. Individuals and organizations will be held accountable for violations of the regulation.
Illicit immigration must be under strict supervision. All related forces and trade union staffs must visit each household in residential quarters to check as illegal immigrants are considered as suspected Covid-19 people; therefore, they must be under quarantine according to the regulations.

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