Attending the meeting were Politburo Member, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc; Politburo Member, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan; other Politburo Members, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and representatives of heads of ministries, departments, industries and central agencies.

General Secretary and President chaired the Politburo meeting on prevention and control of COVID-19

At the meeting, the Government’s Party Civil Affairs Committee gave a speech to the Politburo on the report of the epidemic situation, the prevention and control activities, the achieved results over the past time, the upcoming forecasts, some recommendations and proposals.

On the report of the Government’s Party Civil Affairs Committee and the opinions of the Politburo members, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong delivered a conclusion, in which expressed high appreciation towards the achieved results in the epidemic prevention and control activities over the past time, demonstrating the superiority and good nature of our regimes. The leadership and direction were timely, sharp and drastic, which involved participation of both the political system and the entire population, achieving positive results and gaining fundamental recognition, support and active participation from the world and the people.

The Secretariat, the Standing Committee of the Secretariat and the Prime Minister have promptly issued guidance documents since the epidemic was just detected and had new developments. The National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control shall focus on monitoring, daily execution, directing the prevention and control activities. All levels, sectors and localities shall quickly and drastically apply the directions, synchronize solutions, keep abreast of the situation, formulate plans and scenarios, create numerous effective ways to control the disease, etc.

Medical staff, officers and soldiers of the armed forces, etc. have put great efforts into drastically conducting the epidemic prevention and control activities in which the key objective is for the good of people's health. Information and propaganda have been well implemented, providing timely, complete and transparent information on the epidemic situation and the prevention and control activities, guiding people in healthcare, raising self-awareness and the responsibility for participating in the epidemic prevention and control activities. Cases of spreading false information shall be handled in a timely and strict manner, etc.

However, the epidemic situation is still forecasted to be complicated, unpredictable, seriously affecting the health and lives of the people and putting greatly negative effects on the socio-economic development. General Secretary and President remarked: "Being neglectful and satisfied is absolutely a must not". In the immediate future, efforts should be made to freeze the spread of the epidemic and to prepare for the worst possibility to have the best solution. In the spirit of all joining in and "fight against the epidemic like an enemy", continue to promote the results achieved recently, stay drastic but not to be so panicked. Besides combating the epidemic, there are many other tasks that need to be put into action.

On the analysis of the effects of COVID-19 epidemic on the areas of economic, social, security - defense, foreign affairs, tourism, psychosocial and people's lives, etc., General Secretary and President emphasized: In 2020, the country has significant events ahead, in which Vietnam takes over ASEAN Chairmanship; Non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2020-2021. Also, it is the year of conducting the Party Congress at all levels towards the 13th National Party Congress. Therefore, it is necessary to build plans and solutions for the long term, continuing to promote the strength of both the political system and the great unity bloc of the entire nation, where every citizen is a soldier on the anti-epidemic front, promptly preventing and minimizing sources of spreading, giving priority to create favorable conditions and investing resources in the epidemic fight with the spirit of "fighting against the epidemic like an enemy".

At the same time, strictly follow Directive No. 35-CT/TW of the Politburo on organizing party congresses at all levels; conduct good preparation for the activities within the framework of the ASEAN Chairmanship 2020.

General Secretary and President agreed with the opinions at the meeting: Together with epidemic prevention, it is essential to proactively and actively build and implement policies and measures to minimize negative impacts on the performance of the socio-economic development targets set out; create a plan to restore production, business, tourism development, and ensure the normal lives of the people, especially in the epidemic areas. The context of difficulties and challenges taking place due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic is also an opportunity for economic and business production restructuring.

In the immediate future, public investment should be promoted on the basis of resources already allocated to stimulate demand and ensure reserve resources; boost investment in agriculture, food production, food security, social security, focus on the domestic market, settle difficulties for enterprises, especially small and medium ones, etc./.