Each ward and commune of Ho Chi Minh City must screen homeless people for COVID-19
Authorities of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 4 on Wednesday inoculated some 100 homeless people against COVID-19 after allowing them shelter at a school during the ongoing social distancing mandate in the city.
District 4 is considered the first region to launch shelter and vaccination programs for the homeless during the elevated movement curb in Ho Chi Minh City, which has been in place since early July.
Ward-level authorities of District 4 ran COVID-19 tests on some 100 homeless people, most of whom can no longer afford accommodation after losing jobs in the pandemic.
|
|
| A medical officer inoculates a homeless person against COVID-19 at a shelter in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Vu Thuy / Tuoi Tre |
|
|
| Medical officers perform health screening before inoculating homeless people against COVID-19 at a shelter in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Vu Thuy / Tuoi Tre |
The homeless group was then invited to stay at a school facility until the city’s social welfare center can take over their cases.
Among them is N.N.Bau, 29, from southern Binh Phuoc Province, who got his first jab against COVID-19 on Wednesday afternoon.
Once a security guard for a parking lot, Bau was laid off with no place to stay after the fourth coronavirus wave hit Ho Chi Minh City in late April.
“Here, I can get three meals per day and a decent place to sleep, which is an upgrade from lying on the ground in the open air,” he shared during his second day at the shelter.
|
|
| Homeless people wait for their turn to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at a shelter in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Vu Thuy / Tuoi Tre |
|
|
| Medical officers perform health screening before inoculating a homeless person against COVID-19 at a shelter in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Vu Thuy / Tuoi Tre |
On August 20, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs sent an official letter to district-level and Thu Duc City authorities stating that the vagrant in each area must be brought to the local social welfare center.
Each ward and commune must screen homeless people for COVID-19, according to the document.
Those with negative results, which remain valid for 48 hours, will be transferred to a welfare center in Thu Duc City to receive further support.
Social welfare centers admitted 400 homeless people on Monday and Tuesday, according to Le Minh Tan, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest coronavirus hotspot at the moment, has recorded 190,166 local COVID-19 cases in this fourth wave.
