Vietnam to deploy 500 policemen to Covid-19 hotspot

The Ministry of Public Security will send 500 policemen to support the fight against Covid-19 in Hai Duong, the fresh epidemic center in Vietnam since late January.

Police join fight against Covid-19. Photo: Zing

The deployment of police officers to the coronavirus hotspot is to respond to the call for support by the local government, according to Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Van Son, deputy minister of Public Security.

So far, Hai Duong recorded nearly 600 infections after the locality was affected by the resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 in late January. Rising infections have brought some localities under lockdown while the entire province is observing shelter-in-place order.

Police will help local authorities check the enforcement of safety rules in residential areas and at industrial parks to ensure social distancing and economic activities.

They assist the local government in keeping social security, residency management and illegal immigration.

At present, there are 959 checkpoints deployed with policemen to tighten control over quarantine and stay-at-home order.

According to Associate Prof. Tran Nhu Duong, deputy head of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), Hai Duong currently has nearly 18,000 people who made contact with confirmed cases (F1), nearly 67,000 made contact with suspected cases (F2), and nearly 50,000 F3.

More than 160,000 people have been tested for the virus.

As the situation remains complicated, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said Hai Duong needs to prepare for the worse-case scenario in which the pandemic breaks out again.

As the Covid-19 outbreak remains uncertain, the local government has called for both financial and medical support by the central government. So far, some cities and provinces have committed money and face masks to the hotspot.