Hanoi capital extends social distancing measures till September 6

Nguyen Van Phong, deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, said on August 20 that the Executive Committee of the Municipal Party Committee has approved the local administration’s proposal to maintain the ongoing social distancing measures for another two weeks, starting from August 23, as the coronavirus outbreak remains complicated in the city.

This is the second time Hanoi has extended its social distancing order, and the current order is scheduled to come to an end on August 23.

Experts agreed with the new decision, saying through the outbreak is showing signs of waning, community cases are sporadically detected, posing a high risk to residential communities.

In addition, if the city eases its extended social distancing order on August 23 á scheduled, new clusters of infection may be detected as many people will took to the street or travel to entertainment venues during the upcoming National Holiday (September 2).  

Nguyen Thi Tuyen, standing deputy secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, said if the authorities and residents are negligent and fail to follow the anti-pandemic measures in place, then COVID-19 would continue to spread quickly, making it increasingly difficult to control.

According to experts, the city will request local people to stay indoors to slow the spread of the virus. The ongoing testing drive will be stepped up to early detect and separate all F0 cases from the community. In addition, vaccinations will also be accelerated to protect local people from virus infection.

Hanoi recorded 51 positive COVID-19 cases in six hours from 06.00am to 12.00am, including 23 F0 community cases detected through test screening.

The capital has documented 2,474 positive cases, including 1,267 cases within the community and 1,207 cases in isolation facilities, since April 27.