Spreading the 5K Rules - Protecting the Community Together to Overcome the Covid-19 Pandemic

Spreading the 5K rules - overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic together

The Covid-19 pandemic is growing ever more complicated, spreading dangerously around the globe and causing the number of patient deaths to surge in 2021. In this context, the 5K rules have become one of the unchanging rules, a tool to help us return to the new normal. So what is 5K? How important is applying these principles in Covid prevention? Have you understood these rules CORRECTLY and followed them strictly?

1. What are the 5K rules?

To help people take the initiative in preventing Covid-19 as effectively as possible, the Ministry of Health issued the 5K message, recommending that everyone follow 5K: "Face masks - Disinfection - Distance - No gatherings - Health declaration". Only when the entire population follows them together in earnest can we live safely with the pandemic. Below, we look at the importance of each principle.

The 5K rules for preventing the spread of the pandemic are being applied everywhere

1.1 Face masks - the most important 5K rule

Most respiratory infections are transmitted through the nose and throat of the infected person (through coughing, sneezing and runny noses) or indirectly through intermediaries contaminated with the virus. That is why face masks are considered the first and most important rule issued by Vietnam's Ministry of Health..

Wear a face mask to avoid infection

For healthy people, a face mask is a shield that prevents virus-laden droplets from entering the respiratory tract. For people in the incubation period, wearing a mask prevents the virus from spreading outward.

The Ministry of Health's 5K principles recommend: In quarantine areas and medical facilities, when caring for and coming into contact with people showing respiratory symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath or a runny nose, and when in contact with or caring for people infected or suspected of being infected with Covid-19, wearing a face mask is mandatory.

The 5K principles recommend that people wear face masks in crowded places such as bus stations, railway stations, markets, supermarkets, schools, entertainment venues, public transport, industrial parks, offices and eateries serving food on the premises. The 5K rules also make clear that when leaving home and when interacting with others within a distance of 2m, a face mask must be worn to prevent Covid-19 infection.

1.2. Disinfect your hands with soap or sanitizer

The second 5K message is Disinfection: wash your hands frequently with soap and sanitize them with a disinfectant solution or sanitizing gel. In particular, you should disinfect before eating or preparing food, before touching your face, after coughing, sneezing or removing your mask, and after going out and touching surfaces in public places.

In offices, apartment buildings, homes, hotels, restaurants and frequently used facilities, surfaces and objects that are often touched by hand must be cleaned and thoroughly disinfected, such as elevator buttons, door handles, tabletops, telephones and so on.

Steps for washing and disinfecting hands with soap

1.3. Distance - no close contact with other people

To limit large gatherings, the Government issued Directives 15, 16 and 19 guiding people on Covid-19 prevention and control alongside the 5K rules. Depending on the actual situation, each locality applies different directives. Directives 15 and 16 stipulate a safe distance of 2m, while Directive 19 stipulates a safe distance of 1m.

With the pandemic evolving in a complicated way and the number of asymptomatic infections rising, anyone could be a source of the virus. Therefore, a safe distance must be kept and close contact avoided to prevent disease. This is also the way we protect ourselves and the community.

Keeping a distance in crowded places

1.4. No crowded gatherings  to limit infection

The 4th 5K rule for pandemic prevention is: No crowded gatherings, to prevent virus transmission. If you attend an event or a party, please consider your own safety and that of others. In addition, you should minimize visits to indoor and outdoor public places and limit your use of public transport.

No crowded gatherings to limit infection

1.5. Health declaration

The last 5K rule is Health declaration. This is everyone's responsibility: declarations must be made in earnest when traveling to an outbreak area, when linked to an infected case or showing signs of Covid-19 infection, and when visiting hospitals and medical facilities. Using the information from health declarations, the authorities can easily trace contacts, quarantine and zone F0, F1 and F2 cases and stop the pandemic from spreading. Besides declaring on a paper form, you can also declare via a number of apps: Bluezone; NCOVI; the Health Declaration portal (https://tokhaiyte.vn/ ).

Health declaration is everyone's responsibility

So, have you understood the Ministry of Health's 5K rules correctly and followed them strictly? If all of us follow them well, the pandemic will surely be brought under control soon, and we will be able to travel wherever we want with peace of mind. Let's follow the 5K rules starting now, to protect yourself and the community. At the industrial catering company Stavi, all managers and employees always uphold the 5K rules for MAXIMUM SAFETY.