Accordingly, the current infectious disease situation in the world is still complicated, especially diseases transmitted through the respiratory tract.
According to the World Health Organization, in December 2023, the world recorded nearly 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, and the number of hospitalizations increased by 42% compared to November 2023.
New variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to mutate, with JN.1 now rapidly increasing globally. The United States, China, and several European countries have also seen a resurgence in COVID-19 cases, along with the spread of other respiratory diseases such as seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The COVID-19 epidemic is at risk of increasing sharply during the 2024 Lunar New Year (Photo TL).
In the country, in the Northern region, it is still in the winter-spring season, the cold, dry and humid monsoon weather is the cause of infectious diseases appearing and spreading, especially diseases transmitted through the respiratory tract.
Other infectious diseases such as dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease... and some vaccine-preventable diseases continue to record increasing numbers of cases in many places.
The upcoming Lunar New Year 2024 and the first festival season of the year, the high demand for trade and tourism, along with unusual weather changes, are favorable conditions for pathogens to spread, increasing the number of cases, especially in children with weak resistance and the elderly with underlying diseases, susceptible to infectious diseases.
Implementing Directive No. 01/CT-BYT dated January 5, 2024 of the Ministry of Health on strengthening medical work to ensure the celebration of the Lunar New Year 2024, the Department of Preventive Medicine respectfully requests the Department of Health of provinces and centrally-run cities to direct and organize the implementation, advise the People's Committees of provinces and cities to promptly issue the Plan for Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases in 2024 and mobilize resources and participation of departments, branches, unions, and socio-political organizations in the work of preventing and controlling infectious diseases, especially during the Lunar New Year 2024.
Direct the Center for Disease Control and preventive medical units in the area to regularly and continuously monitor and closely supervise the epidemic situation in the area, pay attention to the increase in cases of respiratory diseases and severe cases of pneumonia caused by viruses;
Proactively monitor, continue to effectively implement regular surveillance, event-based surveillance to detect early cases at border gates, in the community and at medical facilities for timely handling, control the spread, limit severe cases and deaths; continue to maintain good implementation of expanded vaccination.
Direct medical examination and treatment facilities in the area to do a good job of admitting patients and providing timely treatment, especially during the 2024 Lunar New Year, minimizing serious cases and deaths, and controlling infections, preventing cross-infection in medical facilities.
Continue to deploy solutions to ensure logistics, funding, medicines, vaccines, biological products, supplies, chemicals, equipment, and human resources to be ready to serve the work of preventing and fighting infectious diseases and prepare response plans for epidemic situations according to the 4 on-site motto.
Advise the People's Committees of provinces and cities to direct the Departments of Education and Training, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Industry and Trade to coordinate with the health sector and relevant units to continue to effectively implement disease prevention and control activities, ensure food safety and propagate to raise awareness of disease prevention and control measures at educational institutions and schools.
Prevent and control epidemics in livestock and poultry, monitor and detect early outbreaks in animals to thoroughly handle outbreaks and prevent and control diseases transmitted from animals and food to humans.
Strengthen inspection and thoroughly prevent cases of diseased poultry and poultry products, smuggling, and products of unknown origin.
Coordinate with the Department of Information and Communications, media agencies, newspapers and grassroots media systems to strengthen communication activities on prevention and control of infectious diseases, especially respiratory diseases; recommend and guide people to proactively implement personal disease prevention measures and change behavior to improve health.
Direct medical units to develop plans, assign tasks, organize 24/7 on-duty during Tet holidays, strictly implement the reporting of infectious diseases in accordance with regulations and mobilize legal resources to fully implement incentive and motivation regimes for medical staff during the 2024 Lunar New Year, especially staff participating in Tet duty.
Strengthen inspection, supervision and monitoring of the implementation of infectious disease prevention and control work during Tet holiday.
Remarks by the Director-General of the World Health Organization on January 10, 2024. The United States recorded more than 29,000 hospitalizations for COVID-19 across the United States from December 17-23, 2023, an increase of more than 16% over the previous week, and reported more than 14,700 hospitalizations for influenza during the same period.
In the UK in the first week of 2024, an average of more than 3,000 people with COVID-19 were admitted to hospital each day, 68% higher than in early December 2023.
In Italy, influenza and COVID-19 cases increased in the last two weeks of 2023, with infection rates of 17.5/1,000 and 17.7/1,000, respectively. In Spain, influenza cases increased by 75% in the last week of 2023, with the majority of cases resulting in severe pneumonia.
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