This is one of the notable contents specified in the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2007 of Vietnam, which takes effect from July 01, 2008.
Article table of contents
According to Article 8 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2007 of Vietnam, acts strictly prohibited in the prevention and control of infectious diseases include:
1. Intentionally transmitting agents of infectious disease.
2. Persons suffering from an infectious disease, persons suspected of suffering from an infectious disease and pathogen carriers are prohibited from performing jobs likely to transmit agents of infectious disease as prescribed by law.
3. Concealing and failing to report or reporting not in a timely manner cases of contracting infectious diseases in accordance with law.
4. Intentionally declaring or reporting untrue information on infectious diseases.
5. Discriminating against and publishing negative images of and information on persons suffering from an infectious disease.
6. Failing to apply or applying not in a timely manner measures for preventing and controlling infectious diseases as prescribed by this Law.
7. Failing to comply with measures for preventing and controlling infectious diseases at the request of competent agencies and organizations.
The question is, whether COVID-19 is an infectious disease or not?
The answer is yes. Specifically, according to Clause 5 Article 1 of Decision 173/QD-TTg on the declaration of the acute respiratory infection caused by the new strain of coronavirus, COVID-19 is classified as a Group-A infectious disease, which is one of the three groups of infectious diseases mentioned in the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2007.
According to the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2007, Group-A infectious diseases consist of extremely dangerous infectious diseases that can transmit very rapidly and spread widely with high mortality rates or with unknown agents. Group-A infectious diseases include poliomyelitis; influenza A-H5N1; plague: smallpox: Ebola virus. Lassa virus and Marburg virus hemorrhagic fever: West Nile fever: yellow fever cholera; SARS and dangerous infectious diseases newly emerging and with unknown agents.
Thus, it can be seen that the current legislation has clearly defined prohibited acts in general for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, including specific measures for the prevention and control of COVID-19. Given the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential for every citizen to raise their awareness and take personal responsibility for protecting their health, while strictly adhering to health recommendations and legal regulations to protect themselves and the community, and also to avoid legal consequences.
Nguyen Trinh
