The Hanoi City People's Committee sent an urgent document on August 18 requesting that localities based in the capital quickly respond to information regarding early detection, tracing, investigation, and zoning off, in an attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hanoi Ngo Van Quy signs
an urgent telegram regarding COVID-19 prevention and control 

The document has been sent amid the capital recording a total of 35 positive COVID-19 cases, including cases of 11 community infection and one secondary case. Most notably, there have even been cases where the individuals involved displayed no symptoms for a 14-day period.

In line with this, residents have been advised to adopt a range of preventive measures such as wearing facial masks when going out and avoiding large crowds of more than 30 people in public. 

Those who suffer from chronic diseases and are at high risk, in addition to the elderly, are advised to stay indoors. In addition, it is imperative to fill out medical declarations according to regulations and immediately head to medical facilities if an individual is showing signs of a cough, a fever, shortness of breath, or pneumonia.

Furthermore, all staff at restaurants, cafés, and pubs, are ordered to don face masks, whilst customers must sit a metre apart from each other as of midnight on August 19. Indeed, service establishments, factories, and construction sites, must strictly implement these measures in an effort to ensure the public’s safety against the epidemic in accordance to regulations.

The document underscores the urgent need to finalise testing for all returnees from the central city of Da Nang to Hanoi by August 20, whilst also swiftly notifying local residents on their test results.

Hanoi capital continues to conduct COVID-19 tests for returnees from Da Nang hotspot 

According to the Hanoi Department of Health, there are currently 18,333 people across 14 of Hanoi's districts who returned from Da Nang between July 15 and July 29 have not had their samples taken for RT-PCR tests aimed at minimising the risk of local transmission.

Elsewhere, the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee has recently issued an urgent telegram that requests the continued implementation of urgent tasks aimed at combating COVID-19, whilst also setting up checkpoints for commuters and vehicles at a number of traffic gateways close to Hai Duong province.

 A COVID-19 checkpoint at Tien Yen, Quang Ninh 

Quang Ninh province has also decided to suspend the operation of massage and video game service facilities, bars, pubs, clubs, beauty salons, and physical therapy sites staring from midnight on August 19.

All local residents must don masks in public and comply with anti-epidemic regulations set out by the Ministry of Health.