Health chief: precautions, vaccination will help make Laos Covid free

Laos cannot yet announce that cases of Covid-19 are occurring only in localised areas, even though case numbers have plummetted, a senior health ministry official has said.
Director General of the Hygiene and Health Promotion Department, Dr Phonepaseuth Ounaphom, told Vientiane Times last week that the fact that new cases of Covid are being recorded every day means the risk of an extended outbreak is still possible.
“If we want to be able to announce that Covid has become a localised disease, we must record zero cases of Covid for 14 successive days. This is what the World Health Organisation says,” he said.
When that happens, we can relax Covid prevention measures and tell the world that Laos is free of Covid, the same as Cambodia, which is one of the Asean countries do so recently.
To achieve this target, it is essential that everyone continue to follow the rules on Covid prevention laid down by the National Taskforce of Covid-19 Prevention and Control, Dr Phonepaseuth said.
These include wearing a face mask, regular handwashing, and staying at least two metres apart from other people in public places.
However, taskforce members have observed that some people have become complacent and no longer bother to comply with this guidance, and especially do not wear a face mask when in crowded areas.
It is also essential for everyone to stay safe by getting vaccinated, Dr Phonepaseuth added.
“Vaccination is crucial to reducing Covid transmission. If we can achieve a high rate of vaccination, we will develop herd immunity and the population will be much better protected, meaning that the infection rate will gradually decrease.”
As of June 12, more than 5 million people (79.18 percent of the population) had received a first dose of a Covid vaccine, while more than 5 million people (69.32 percent) were fully vaccinated.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update June 14, 2022)