People visit Nguyen Hue Flower Street in HCMC during the Lunar New Year holidays on February 10, 2021. Photo by VnExpress / Quynh Tran
The Department of Health has proposed to halt all non-essential activities with large gatherings during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays in light of recent outbreaks of Covid-19.
In a document sent to the government office on Friday, the health ministry said the number of Covid-19 cases in the community was on the rise, especially in areas with high population and traffic.
The Omicron variant circulating in the world is also a worrying variable, although Vietnam has not recorded any such infections, he added.
Tran Dac Phu, former head of the general preventive medicine department, said activities essential for economic development and production should be maintained, while other activities could continue under certain conditions or be suspended.
Choosing to live with the virus means there would be more cases, he added. “People should only go to places with large gatherings when it is really necessary, avoid parties and reduce the number of people in meetings, especially in times to come.”
Vietnam has recorded more than 1.5 million cases of Covid-19 in the fourth wave of the coronavirus, with more than 29,000 deaths. Infections and deaths have increased in recent times, with around 15,000 new cases per day.
Compared to the previous month, the number of cases of community transmission increased by 186.4% and the number of severe cases by 62.2%.
Head, or Lunar New Year, is Vietnam’s biggest holiday that normally involves many festivals, parties, and trips. The holidays peak on February 1 of this year.
