Less-than-normal traffic is seen on a street in HCMC as the strict stay-at-home order is in force amid the rapid spread of Covid-19 in the country's most populated city. The city may impose a nighttime curfew from tomorrow as coronavirus cases are still surging despite the social distancing order - PHOTO: LAM VU

HCMC – Phan Van Mai, permanent deputy secretary of the HCMC Party Committee, has hinted that the continuous spike in Covid-19 cases may lead the city to impose a nightime curfew from tomorrow, July 26, banning all residents from going out from 6 p.m. without legitimate reasons.

At a press briefing today, July 25, Mai said although the city has been practicing social distancing at varying degrees of strictness for 55 consecutive days, new daily cases have still soared.

He put the blame on the lack of compliance with the anti-pandemic measures among some residents and communities and on the underperformance of some anti-Covid forces, especially those in the residential areas on lockdown.

The city authorities will make the anti-virus requirements more stringent to early put the pandemic under control. Tomorrow, Mai said, the city would issue a new order restricting residents from going out without legitimate reasons.

Residents could still leave home to buy food and other necessities but during certain hours, or visit hospitals for urgent medical attention.

Strict anti-pandemic measures will be applied until August 1. However, if the situation does not improve, these measures could be extended for two more weeks after August 1, Mai added.

At the press conference, HCMC Vice Chairman Duong Anh Duc explained why the city had lent Vingroup 5,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses, saying that the group had contributed huge resources to the city to fight the pandemic.

Vingroup has provided the city with more than 2,000 ventilators, which hospitals in the city are lacking of. It has also provided medical workers, test kits and testing machines, and made donations to the country's Covid-19 vaccine fund.

The city’s lending of 5,000 Moderna vaccine doses to Vingroup is appropriate and reasonable as the group will use the vaccine for employees at its Vinmec healthcare system, who also serve the city’s fight against the pandemic.

For other companies that want to borrow the vaccines, the city would do the same provided that the lending benefits its Covid battle.