Authorities have declared that the COVID-19 epidemic has been kept under control in Cu Chi District and District 7 under Ho Chi Minh City, which is the largest virus epicenter of Vietnam.

Cu Chi District has principally contained the spread of the coronavirus, Nguyen Thi Le, chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday.

The northernmost district of Ho Chi Minh City, Cu Chi recorded 2,327 coronavirus infections from August 16 to 31, all of whom were either sent to quarantine centers or strictly monitored at home, district officials said at a meeting on Thursday. 

Among the adult populace of Cu Chi District, 93 percent have received at least one jab against the coronavirus, while four percent have got the second dose, they added.

One of the areas deemed at low risk of COVID-19 spread in Ho Chi Minh City, Cu Chi has put all residents in the most susceptible neighborhoods through three rounds of testing, whereas those in relatively safer areas are about to enter the second round of screening. 

As a total of 260 zones, home to 3,200 households and 9,100 residents, are still in lockdown, district authorities are striving to provide relief packages, bringing over 200,000 gift bundles containing essential items and groceries to 96,000 struggling households.

The district’s effort in containing the virus was commended by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to chairwoman Nguyen Thi Le.

Also on Thursday, the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of District 7 announced the locale’s initial success in curbing the spread of the pathogen.

The death toll in the district has declined sharply since August 23, while the vaccination rate among adult citizens has reached 94 percent, district officials declared.

Local authorities have funneled VND98 billion (US$4.3 million) from the public budget into COVID-19 relief programs, which have so far reached 57,878 residents.

They have raised VND94.5 billion ($4.15 million) worth of donations from various sources, besides persuading 2,500 landlords to waive a total of VND14.5 billion ($638,000) in rents for tenants. 

District 7 has completed the rollout of the first two welfare packages, while 87 percent of the third package has been distributed to local residents, according to officials' report.

Local leaders are planning to move 2,500 vulnerable residents, such as senior citizens and obese individuals, out of high-risk zones to specialized lodgings for better care and monitoring. 

Health workers in District 7 are working to screen residents for the coronavirus, while providing at least one vaccine jab to all citizens aged 18 years old and above. 

By September 15, they aim to have 15-20 percent of the populace inoculated with two doses, targeting to raise the ratio to 100 percent by September 30. 

Ho Chi Minh City is currently the gravest coronavirus outbreak site in Vietnam, recording over 232,000 cases since the fourth wave emerged in the Southeast Asian country on April 27.

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