Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs the 13th meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

During a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control connected to 63 provinces and cities across the country, Prime Minister Chinh, Head of the Steering Committee, said: “This 13th session assesses the pandemic situation and sets out appropriate solutions. It can be said that on a national scale, the pandemic is still under control. However, in recent weeks, cases have surged in the community, especially after the Omicron variant entered Vietnam. It’s imperative to closely watch pandemic developments and further evaluate the situation. Any emerging and unexpected problems need to addressed.”

The Prime Minister urged not to let our guard down and to focus on reducing the number of severe cases and deaths, and preventing overloading the health system. The Ministry of Health is responsible for ensuring adequate quantity and quality of vaccines, buying vaccines for children from 5 to under 12 years old, and to take necessary and uniform measures on price control of therapeutic drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.

The Prime Minister asked localities to continue the rapid vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in this spring.

The tourism sector was urged to aggressively prepare for reopening under new normal conditions from March 15 in the spirit of "safe adaptation, flexibility, effective disease control".