Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam at the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on January 27, 2021.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, made the statement during a meeting on Thursday as Vietnam confirmed new community infections after 2 months. 

The Steering Committee would strive to contain the outbreaks within 10 days, though the current outbreaks are considered much more serious than the outbreak in the central city of Da Nang that took 23 days to put down in the summer, given that there are now cases of the new highly transmissible variant of coronavirus, Mr. Dam said.

He urged measures to be put in place to deal with the worst-case scenario of up to 30,000 infections.

In the coming days, there will be reports of many cases but that shouldn't be cause for panic, Mr. Dam said, as the testing range has expanded considerably.

He said that incidents like what is going on in the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Hai Duong could easily happen anywhere else.

“If we let our guard down, and unfortunately outbreaks emerge simultaneously in several locations then we will be put in a very difficult position,” Mr. Dam said. 

“For a virus that spreads faster and more dangerously, our efforts to fight the virus should also be faster and more resolute,” he said, adding that there will be utmost efforts expended to ensure peace and safety for people for the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday that is less than two weeks away. 

He said the most important mission at the moment is to continue tracing contacts to identify which areas need to be put under lockdown, or which degrees of social distancing are needed. 

Thursday saw 100 domestic cases nationwide, a daily record which broke Vietnam's streak of nearly two months without a community transmission. The new outbreaks have now been reported in Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh and Hanoi.