Khammuan is a province located in the center of the country. In July this year, the province reported an increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases, following a large influx of Lao migrant workers returning home from neighbouring countries.
To meet this surge, the province increased its capacity of quarantine and isolation facilities, and a central team from the Ministry of Health (MOH) and WHO were deployed to support the province in surveillance, risk assessment, case investigation and data management.
Initially, the cases were linked to the returning migrant workers. However, by late August, clusters were also reported in markets, and transmission has spread to many districts. Soon, positive cases were detected in households, prisons, and factories.
Through the Emergency Operations Center, the provincial governor provided leadership to the response, working with the central MOH team and technical experts, and local authorities to mitigate transmission.
The laboratory capacity in Khammuan has been strengthened for the COVID-19 outbreak response. The province used to be able to test 20 tests per day using portable PCR machine. However, with establishment of GeneXpert and RT-PCR machine, the current testing capacity is 500 tests per day. MoH and WHO has provided training and supervisory visits, and 8 trained laboratory technicians in the province are now able to test specimens by themselves.
Laboratory technicians are testing specimens.
Daily press conferences were held at the Provincial Health Department to provide the public can access with the latest official information.
A daily press conference by the Provincial Health Department.
The province implemented strict public health and social measures including stay-at-home orders, restriction on inter-provincial and inter-district travel, mass gatherings and the closure of public places and workplaces to reduce the risk of further transmission. By September, Khammuan has one of the largest outbreaks of COVID-19 and was assessed to be experiencing large scale community transmission.
The field response team made up of MOH and WHO staff from the central level.
Factories that reported large number of cases were turned into isolation facilities. Business owners shared responsibility to monitor and provide support to their affected workers.
MOH and WHO conducted a site investigation at a factory.
Community leaders like village chief, local authorities, police, and the private sector collaborated to facilitate testing and monitoring of close contacts and people at-risk to contain transmission. They also played an important role to promote stay home and preventive measures, and informed villagers of vaccination activities through village loudspeakers.
MOH and WHO conducted case investigation and contact tracing at a village
With the support from the central team, a recent assessment was done on localized community transmission, and it was reported that local case numbers have decreased significantly.
Despite the improved situation, MOH suggests using an evidence-based and phased approach supported by data from multisource surveillance to slowly adjust the public health and social measures that are in place, while monitoring the impact of these adjustments.
Vaccination is another key priority for the province. As of 3 November 2021, 37.1 per cent of the population in the province has received their first dose and 31 per cent has received all recommended doses. The province will continue to increase community outreach to vaccinate vulnerable groups such as elderly, people with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, and frontline workers.
The central team together with WHO staff continues to provide support to the province to strengthen their response and healthcare capacities, looking beyond the COVID-19 response, to delivery of essential health services beyond the pandemic.