Công văn 1560/BYT-MT

To: People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities.

COVID-19 is progressing unpredictably around the world and in Vietnam. As of 23/3/2020, COVID-19 is detected in 19 provinces and cities across the country.

To ensure environmental hygiene and stop the spread of the disease, the Ministry of Health has formulated a set of interim guidelines for environmental decontamination and disinfection of areas accommodating COVID-19 patients in the community (enclosed therewith).

The Ministry of Health hereby requests People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities to direct Departments of Health and relevant units to perform environmental decontamination and disinfection in accordance with the guidelines and to inspect and supervise such performance.

With sincere thanks./.

INTERIM GUIDELINES

FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DECONTAMINATION AND DISINFECTION OF AREAS ACCOMMODATING COVID-19 PATIENTS IN COMMUNITY
(Enclosed with Official Dispatch No. 1560/BYT-MT dated 25/03/2020 by Ministry of Health)

1. Objectives

Prevent community transmission of COVID-19.

2. Rules

-Environmental decontamination and disinfection must be promptly performed after detection of the first COVID-19 case.

- Surfaces and objects must be cleaned prior to disinfection.

- Ensure complete safety and prevent cross-infection for persons performing environmental decontamination and disinfection.

3. Decontaminated and disinfected areas

- Houses/rooms/apartments of COVID-19 cases;

- Areas surrounding the house/room/apartment of a COVID-19 case, including:

+ Outside walls of the house/room/apartment and adjacent apartments/rooms;

+ Corridors, shared walkways, stairs, elevators, lobbies, etc. of the apartment building, dormitory, hotel, boarding house, hostel or quarantine zone.

+ Walls, gardens, yards, sidewalks, shared walkways, etc. of adjacent houses.

4. Equipment and chemical preparation

- Cleaning and disinfection equipment: buckets, cleaning towels, mops, disinfectant spray bottles/machines, etc.

- Yellow biomedical waste bags/containers.

- Personal protective equipment:

✓Medical masks for nose and mouth protection.

✓ Safety goggles for eye protection.

✓ Protective clothing for protection against water and fluids.

✓ Thick rubber gloves.

✓ Waterproof boots or shoe covers.

- Disinfectants: chlorine-based disinfectants; 70-degree alcohol; hand soap or hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol.

5. Procedures

5.1. Inside houses/rooms/apartments of COVID-19 cases and inside adjacent rooms/apartments

a) Cleaning and disinfection

Apply the 2-bucket wash method with one bucket filled with clean water and the other filled with a disinfectant solution containing 0,05 – 0,1% active chlorine. Use a clean towel for each wiping turn, do not rinse towels in the buckets and use each towel for an area no larger than 20 m².

- Wipe frequently touched surfaces (tables, chairs, bed frames, dressers, refrigerators, doorknobs, toilets, wash-basins, faucets, kitchen cabinets, walls, windows, doors, etc.) as follows:

+ Wipe the surfaces using towels soaked with clean water.

+ Wipe the surfaces using towels soaked with the disinfectant solution from clean areas to dirty areas, from inside out and from the top to the bottom.

- Wipe the floors of bedrooms, living rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, stairs, balconies, etc. as follows:

+ Wipe the floors with clean water first. If there is garbage, gather the garbage while wiping.

+ Mop the floors with the disinfectant solution from clean areas to dirty areas, from inside out and from the top to the bottom.

Note:

+ Use 70-degree alcohol to wipe surfaces of electrical/electronic devices such as light switches, remotes, televisions, phones, etc. after turning off power supply.

+ Replace the water or disinfectant solution when it is dirty.

b) Waste collection

- All waste from accommodations of COVID-19 patients must be treated as biomedical waste. Put the waste in yellow bags, tie each bag tightly, put it inside another yellow bag and tie this bag tightly as well. All yellow bags must be labeled “CHẤT THẢI CÓ NGUY CƠ CHỨA SARS-CoV-2” (“Danger of SARS-CoV-2 infection”).

c) Handle reusable personal items (clothing, blankets, mosquito nets, tableware, etc.) of COVID-19 cases

- Used textile items such as clothing, blankets, mosquito nets, bed linen and pillows of COVID-19 patients must be fully soaked in a disinfectant solution containing 0,05% active chlorine for at least 20 minutes before washing.

- Tableware of COVID-19 cases must be fully soaked in a disinfectant solution containing 0,05% active chlorine for 10 - 20 minutes before rinsing with clean water (if disinfectants are not available, tableware may be boiled for 10 - 15 minutes).

5.2. Outside houses/rooms/apartments of COVID-19 cases and outside adjacent rooms/apartments/houses

5.2.1. Chemicals: disinfectant solutions containing 0,1% active chlorine.

5.2.2. Spray the chemicals evenly and at the rate of 0,3-0,5 liter/m² over the following places:

a) If the COVID-19 patient stays in an apartment building, dormitory, hotel, boarding house, hostel, quarantine zone, etc.:

- Spray the chemicals over the outside walls of the following places:

+ The patient’s room/apartment.

+ Apartments/rooms next to the patient’s apartment/room.

- Spray the chemicals over the following shared areas:

+ Corridors and shared walkways of the same floor level or row where the patient's room/apartment is located.

+ Stairs, elevators and lobbies of the building.

+ Other shared areas of the building.

b) If the patient stays in a private house:

- For the patient’s house:

+ Spray the chemicals over the outside of the house’s walls, windows and doors.

+ Spray the chemicals over the entire yard, garden, kitchen and shared areas (if any) of the house;

- For houses next to the patient’s house:

+ Spray the chemicals over the outside of each house’s walls, windows and doors.

+ Spray the chemicals over the yard, garden, kitchen and shared areas (if any);

+ Spray the chemicals over shared walkways, sidewalks, etc. of the houses.

- Spray the chemicals over public areas surrounding the patient’s house (if any) such as playgrounds, outdoor sports facilities, etc.

Note:

- After spraying chemicals over shared areas, request the residents to refrain from moving for 30 minutes to ensure disinfection efficiency.

- Adjust spraying locations based on the frequency of contact that the patient has made with their accommodation.

6. Completing environmental decontamination and disinfection

- Collect and put biomedical waste bags and used personal protective equipment into biomedical containers and handle them as regulated.

- Perform hand hygiene with soap and water or hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol immediately after finishing environmental decontamination and disinfection.

7. Implementation

7.1. Steering committees for COVID-19 prevention and control of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall:

- Direct and coordinate environmental decontamination and disinfection of areas accommodating COVID-19 cases in their respective provinces and cities.

- Provide necessary resources for environmental decontamination and disinfection.

7.2. Departments of Health and Departments of Natural Resources and Environment:

- Departments of Health shall direct local healthcare units to perform environmental decontamination and disinfection.

- Departments of Natural Resources and Environment shall direct timely collection, transport and handling of biomedical waste in compliance with regulations.

7.3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Centers for Preventive Medicine of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall:

- Provide technical assistance and guidelines for district-level healthcare units to perform environmental decontamination and disinfection of areas accommodating COVID-19 cases in their respective districts.

- Inspect and supervise environmental decontamination and disinfection.

7.4. District-level medical centers shall:

- Prepare necessary equipment and chemicals.

- Perform environmental decontamination and disinfection.

- Collect and put biomedical waste bags and used personal protective equipment into biomedical containers.

7.5. People’s Committees of communes accommodating COVID-19 cases shall:

- Direct management boards/managers of apartment buildings, dormitories, hotels, boarding houses, hostels, etc. that accommodate COVID-19 patients to prepare the sites to be decontaminated and disinfected.

- Ensure safety and security during environmental decontamination and disinfection.

7.6. Management boards/Managers of apartment buildings, dormitories, hotels, boarding houses and hostels shall:

- Inform residents and guests about environmental decontamination and disinfection for their cooperation.

- Cooperate with healthcare units in environmental decontamination and disinfection.

- Contact environment units to have biomedical waste transported and handled within the day.

7.7. Quarantine zones shall:

- Inform quarantined persons about environmental decontamination and disinfection for their cooperation.

- Prepare the sites to be decontaminated and disinfected.

- Cooperate with healthcare units in environmental decontamination and disinfection.

- Tidy and clean personal items and protect personal belongings of COVID-19 cases (if any).

- Contact environment units to have biomedical waste transported and handled within the day.

7.8. Families of COVID-19 patients shall cooperate with health officials in tidying and cleaning personal items and protect personal belongings of the patients.