DIRECTIVE

PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF COVID-19

Pursuant to Official Dispatch no. 79-CV/TW dated 29/01/2020 of the Central Secretariat of Communist Party on prevention and control of Covid-19;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Directive no. 05/CT-TTg dated 28/01/2020 and Directive No. 06/CT-TTg dated 31/01/2020 on prevention and control of Covid-19.

The Minister of Information And Communications hereby requests that all communication and information authorities:

I. OVERALL

1. Follow instructions of the Communist Party and the State on epidemic prevention and control. To be specific:

a) Understand that good communication of information about is crucial and will effectively contribute to protection of the people’s health and life and reduction of loss caused by the epidemic.

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2. All communication agencies, units and enterprises shall participate in epidemic prevention and control; cooperate with health authorities and relevant authorities in effective epidemic prevention and control.

3. Technology enterprises should consider this a challenge and their responsibility to society, thus quickly find solutions, apply new technology to improve the effectiveness of epidemic prevention and control.

II. SPECIFIC TASKS

1. Technology-based communication

- Send messages about Covid-19 prevention and control to every mobile subscribers.

- Produce and publish short videos and infographics about the epidemic through mass media and on popular social networks and digital platforms in Vietnam such as Facebook, Zalo, YouTube, Lotus, etc.

- Uniformly use the hashtag #ICT_anti_nCoV, and design a logo for the campaign “Cộng đồng công nghệ số Việt Nam phòng, chống dịch bệnh viêm đường hô hấp cấp do chủng mới của vi rút Corona gây ra” (loosely translated “Covid-19 control in cyberspace”).

2. Communication via news, radio, television, internal communication, diplomatic communication

- Cooperate with the Ministry of Health in orienting communication of information about covid-19 prevention and control on printed newspapers, radio, television, online news), local communication systems, diplomatic communication, electronic advertising networks on various platforms.

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- Product and publish videos, banners, etc. on popular online newspapers.

- Write articles to build the people’s trust in the actions of Communist Party and the State, the community healthcare system and internal health departments; take actions against fake news on social media.

- Organize editing and selection of news and articles from the National Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Covid-19 (hereinafter referred to as “National Steering Committee”) and the Ministry of Health that are appropriate for each region, broadcast them on the radio—television channels of the districts and communes to recommend against activities posing high risk of infection and instruct the people to contact a health authority in case any symptom of Covid-19 develops.

- Cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in publishing articles on the diplomatic communication system to express Vietnam’s international responsibility, cooperativeness and willingness to assist other countries, etc. (through printed newspapers, online newspapers, radio and television).

3. Maintain communication and connection of hospitals and health facilities, timely information sharing

- Cooperate in development of connection between hospitals and health facilities at which confirmed cases and suspected cases of Covid-19 are being quarantined and trusted, and in possibly affected areas with the communication system and database of the Ministry of Health.

- Do not charge calls to Covid-19 hotline of the Ministry of Health.

4. Assurance of network security; actions against fake news

- Negotiate with Facebook and Google about removal of false information and videos about the epidemic as well as accounts that post such information.

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III. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

1. Establish a working group of the Ministry of Information and Communications specialized in prevention and control of Covid-19 which consists of:

- Group leader: a senior officer of the Ministry of Information And Communications;

- Senior representatives of the Press and Publishing Department of Central Propaganda Committee;

- Senior representatives of Ministry Office, sub-departments of postal services and information technology of Telecommunications, Central Post Service, Information Security, Press, Radio, Television, Electronic Information, Local Communication, Diplomatic Information departments of Vietnam Post (VNPT).

2. Sub-departments of postal services shall:

Request postal enterprises to temporarily stop receiving and transporting medical supplies (medical facemasks, antiseptics, medial gloves) serving prevention of Covid-19 to other countries from 01/02/2020.

3. Telecommunications Departments shall:

- Cooperate with relevant agencies of the Ministry of Health and telecommunications enterprises in connecting hospitals and health facilities at which confirmed cases and suspected cases of Covid-19 are being quarantined and trusted, and in possibly affected areas with the communication system and database of the Ministry of Health.

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- Take charge and cooperate with relevant agencies of the Ministry of Health and enterprises providing terrestrial mobile information services to send messages about prevention and control of Covid-19 to mobile subscribers as requested by National Steering Committee and the Ministry of Health.

4. Central Postal Service Department shall:

Maintain communication to serve operation of Communist Party, the authorities and National Steering Committee.

5. Information Security Department shall:

- Enhance supervision of cyber-activities in Vietnam regarding Covid-19 pandemic; enhance app of information technology to communication of accurate and timely information about epidemic control.

- Cooperate with specialized forces of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, Provincial Departments of Information and Communications in identifying and taking actions against people that spread fake news about Covid-19 on the Internet.

- Design a logo for the campaign “Cộng đồng công nghệ số Việt Nam phòng, chống dịch bệnh viêm đường hô hấp cấp do chủng mới của vi rút Corona gây ra” (“Covid-19 control in cyberspace”).

- Cooperate with Radio, Television and Electronic Information Department in negotiating with Facebook and Google about removal of false information and videos about the epidemic situation.

6. Information Technology Department shall:

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7. Press Department shall:

- Perform tasks relevant to printed newspapers and online newspapers; cooperate with relevant units in orienting reporting of news within the scope of the duties.

- Closely monitor news; identify and deal with news that contain inaccurate or false information causing confusion among the people.

- Advise the Minister in orientating the press in communication of information about epidemic prevention and control.

8. Radio, Television and Electronic Information Department shall:

- Preside over negotiations with Facebook and Google about removal of false information and videos about the epidemic situation; display of top results from Vietnam’s official sources when users in Vietnam search for info about the epidemic situation.

- Request radio and television stations to increase the duration of Covid-19 prevention and control programs; frequently update information about the epidemic situation, the process of prevention and control of the epidemic in daily news, especially morning, noon and evening news.

- Request enterprises managing popular Vietnamese social network to share instructions on prevention of Covid-19 infection.

- Cooperate with Provincial Departments of Information and Communications in requesting advertising enterprises to publish information about epidemic prevention and control on their digital screens, wifi marketing and digital advertising systems on various platforms.

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9. Local Communication Department shall:

Request and instruct radio – television stations of districts and communes to increase the frequency and duration of programs about epidemic prevention and control; cooperate with relevant units of the Ministry of Health in promptly providing information and documents for local communication systems.

10. Diplomatic Communication Department shall:

Participate in domestic communication and cooperate with relevant authorities of Central Propaganda Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in diplomatic communication of information about epidemic prevention and control:

- Communicate the positivity of the epidemic prevention and control actions of the Communist Party and the State, their responsibility to the people and the world.

- Communicate the civilized and friendly attitudes of Vietnam’s government and Vietnamese people towards Chinese people and the world.

11. Provincial Departments of Information and Communications shall:

- Inspect and supervise performance of the tasks specified in this Directive in their provinces.

- Request press agencies, radio and television stations, and local communication systems of the province to increase duration of broadcasting of information about epidemic prevention and control.

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- Assist specialized units of the Ministry of Health in upgrading official websites about epidemic prevention and control; ensure adequate bandwidth and connectivity to maximize effectiveness.

- Apply artificial intelligence to identification of fake news; participate in spreading information on official websites about epidemic prevention and control;

- Apply bid data analysis; propose solutions to improve effectiveness of epidemic prevention and control measures based on the analysis results.

13. Postal enterprises shall:

Temporarily stop receiving and transporting medical supplies (medical facemasks, antiseptics, medial gloves) serving prevention of Covid-19 to other countries from 01/02/2020.

14. Enterprises proving telecommunications services, Internet services, Internet television, popular digital platforms in Vietnam (Zalo, Lotus, Coccoc, Gapo, Be, Mocha, Fastgo, Facebook, Google, Grab, etc.)

- Spread official information from the authorities among users on their platforms in an active and innovative way.

- Provide simple and creative utilities on their platforms to enable users to access official information about epidemic prevention and control; assist users in epidemic prevention and control (questions and answers, consultancy, information search, information health facilities, etc.).

- Use the network of their transaction centers to protect information about epidemic situation for their customers (fliers, standees, backdrops, digital screens, etc.).

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- Strictly implement Official Dispatch no. 79-CV/TW dated 29/01/2020 of the Central Secretariat of Communist Party, the Prime Minister’s Directives and other instructional documents of superior authorities on prevention and control of Covid-19.

- Be responsible for implementation of this Directive; take proper actions to prevent Covid-19 infection in the workplace and family.

All agencies, units, enterprises and individuals in the communication sector shall disseminate and implement this Directive.

Technology community of Vietnam is recommended to participate in resolving social issues, especially those relevant to epidemic prevention and control.

The Ministry Office is responsible for supervising and reporting the implementation of this Directive to the Minister./.

MINISTER




Nguyen Manh Hung