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At the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control Photo: VNA

Hoang Minh Duc, deputy head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, said at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control that Vietnam has gone through 24 straight days without any coronavirus infections in the community.

The total cases of COVID-19 in the country stand at 1,439, he said, adding that Vietnam has basically contained the pandemic.

However, imported cases of COVID-19 have still been recorded from flights bringing overseas Vietnamese home or foreign experts to Vietnam, Duc said. Therefore, the country faces the risk of pandemic recurrence, especially during the New Year holidays when the demand for home returning increases.

Presiding over the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the committee, called for the joint resolution to preserve achievements in the pandemic combat as long as possible, in order to ensure safe and happy New Year holidays.

A medic takes samples of a man during a Covid-19 mass testing session in central Quang Nam Province in August 2020. Photo: VnExpress

He suggested strengthening pandemic prevention measures, saying border guards, as well as police, authorities, and people in border areas, need to carry forward their role and responsibility during the pandemic fight.

All immigrants to Vietnam must present their quarantine plans before entering Vietnam, Dam requested.

Apart from medical centers, schools, and lodging facilities, it is necessary to step up COVID-19 prevention and control measures at markets, commercial centers, places of worship, notably public transport means, he went on.

Dam asked competent forces to enhance inspections and the communication work, explaining that after days without locally-transmitted infections, people would let their guard down.

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COVID-19 Updates (Dec. 25): 12 new imported cases, nearly 1,300 patients treated Vietnam recorded 12 new imported COVID-19 cases on December 24 evening, raising the total number of infections in the country to 1,433.