Table 4.

Critical tasks tested for the full-scale exercise 2018 in Vietnam

Critical tasks by full-scale exercise objective	Corresponding EBS steps
Objective 1. The Commune Health Station follows established protocols to triage, verify and report signals to the District Health Center.	• Detection • Reporting • Triage • Verification
• Signal is detected and registered • Triage is performed to determine if signal is true • If signal is true, verification is conducted • Notification is provided to Event-Based Surveillance (EBS) Focal Point at Cam Pha City Health Center
Objective 2. The District Hospital uses hospital signal criteria to detect and report signal.	• Detection • Reporting
• Clinician correctly uses criteria to detect a signal in presenting patient and reports it to EBS Focal Point, who receives and logs the information
Objective 3. The District Hospital follows established protocols to collect specimens and package them for transport to the lab for testing.	• Verification
• Specimens are collected and packaged for transport • PCDC is informed of when to expect specimens for testing
Objective 4. The District Health Center (DHC) follows established protocols to verify suspect cases and report public health events to the provincial level.	• Triage • Verification
• Notification of signal from the hospital EBS Focal Point is received and logged • Triage performed to determine if reported signal is true. If signal is true, DHC performs a full verification at the hospital to ensure no duplication in system, registers it and reports it to Provincial Center for Disease Control (PCDC)
Objective 5. The District Health Center’s Rapid Response Team (RRT) deploys within timeframe requested in notification and performs public health emergency response activities according to established protocols.	• Risk assessment
• DHC immediately deploys an RRT to hospital and commune health station • DHC’s RRT conducts case investigation • Epidemiology investigation is performed on patient’s contacts, living situation and relevant factors • DHC’s RRT provides guidance to hospital staff to isolate patient and disinfect area • Risk assessment is performed after collecting all sources of information
Objective 6. The PCDC follows established protocols to conduct disease surveillance, risk assessments and disease reporting in support of a public health emergency.	• Risk assessment
• PCDC registers event reported by DHC • PCDC is in the reporting chain and monitors the public health event • Case is confirmed, risk assessment performed and overall risk is reported to National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE)
Objective 7. The PCDC coordinates appropriate risk messaging in support of a public health emergency.	• None
• Risk messaging is coordinated to support DHC
Objective 8. The PCDC’s RRT deploys within timeframe requested in notification and performs public health emergency response activities according to established protocols.	• None
• PCDC’s RRT supports the District’s RRT activities
Objectives 9–19 correspond to laboratory and Public Health Emergency Operations Center (PHEOC) functions.	• Risk assessment