The Vietnamese National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Infection Prevention and Control has announced that the country is eligible to downgrade the classification of COVID-19 to that of a less dangerous disease, moving toward the end of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, head of the committee, said at its 20th meeting on Saturday that COVID-19 meets all criteria to become a Group-B infectious disease, shifted from the one in Group A.

Group A infectious diseases are extremely dangerous and highly contagious with high mortality rates or unknown disease-causing agents, according to Vietnam’s Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.

Meanwhile, Group B infectious diseases are dangerous and may spread fast and cause a risk of fatality.

The downgrading of the pandemic will mark an important milestone for Vietnam’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19, said the prime minister.

Announcements on the downgrading and end of COVID-19 will be made by the Ministry of Health.

The government leader ordered the ministry and relevant agencies to promptly complete legal procedures to declare an end to COVID-19.

The ministry was told to beef up the healthcare capacity and medical workforces to make the country ready for a potential pandemic, or COVID-19 resurgence.

Vietnam is striving to stabilize residents’ daily activities and call on the community to join hands to address post-pandemic consequences.

The World Health Organization announced on May 5 that COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency, reported Reuters.

The COVID-19 pandemic shocked all countries around the world, taking a heavy toll on the global economy. 

For the first time, Vietnam has battled a Group-A disease on a nationwide scale, facing multiple challenges caused by weak healthcare capacity, a shortage of medical equipment, and limited medical workforces, said the prime minister.

The success in this fight resulted from the cooperation between state agencies, people and enterprises; the support from international partners; and the government’s strategy with a focus on testing, quarantine and treatment, coupled with timely vaccination, according to the leader of the committee.

The country also implemented the dual goal of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and promoting economic development, including reopening international borders, backing the economic recovery and growth after COVID-19.

Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, Vietnam’s COVID-19 death toll has reached some 42,000.

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