“Golden moment”

During 88 days before 23rd July 2021, Ha Noi recorded 10.4 new infections per day and the infection kept increasing including community transmission. Especially since July, there were cases recorded at healthcare facilities, factories and industrial zones, wet markets and supermarkets as well as populations.

The risk of an outbreak had been larger than ever though the city already applied soft social distancing or Directive 15 (prohibition of indoor events with more than 20 participants as well as outdoor activities with more than 10 persons, only essential services were allowed).

Facing these complications, from 6 a.m. of 24th July 2021, Ha Noi declared strict social distancing according to Directive 16 for 15 days and then had been extended three times. The infections felt sharply with daily infection recorded is 28.3 cases from 6th September till now in comparison to 71.1 cases in the first 15 days of the strict social distancing.

Up to date, there are only 3 communes at very high risk, 22 others at high risk and 26 at risk with the totality of 15 village-level points in 10 districts of the capital city. On the other hands, the safe zones have increased from 27 communes by the end of July to 528 communes at the moment.

Testing and vaccination

Focused testing and vaccination are keys to isolate risk from the community. Hanoi’s healthcare workers are busy days and nights carrying out mass vaccination for people living in the capital.

The campaign has also been supported by more than 4,000 healthcare workers from 12 other provinces and cities. With the support, there was a moment that the city recorded nearly 600,000 vaccine doses administered daily. Accordingly, there are 5,649,581 persons older than 18 years old (67.9 per cent of the population of Hanoi) received their first jabs.

By 6 p.m. today, Hanoi has recorded 19 more infections of which 17 cases are in quarantined centers and 2 others are at strict-isolated zones./.