Hanoi’s localities must tighten supervision of people arriving from abroad and fix loopholes in regulations at quarantine facilities, in a bid to prevent community transmissions of COVID-19 at all costs, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung has said.

Dung made the order during a virtual meeting of the municipal steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control held on January 7.

Hanoi so far has logged a total of 198 infections, including 77 cases since July 25, and zero deaths, according to Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh.

The capital has gone through 143 days without locally transmitted cases, he added. 

Eight new infections reported in the past week were all among people returning from abroad who had been quarantined upon arrival. The patients are receiving treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Relevant agencies were urged to review procedures related to concentrated quarantine, as all citizens returning from abroad must stay in quarantine for two weeks and test negative with COVID-19 twice before leaving the facilities.

The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap also vowed to tighten management of the border to prevent illegal entries. 

At a working session between the provincial authorities, the provincial border guard high command and other organisation on January 7, it was reported that between March 2020 and January 6, 2021, more than 1,100 people were sent to concentrated quarantine facilities of the province, including 373 illegal migrants. Four cases were transferred to competent agencies for legal actions.

The border guard force also worked with Cambodian authorities to launch joint actions to curb the spread of the pandemic and crime activities. 

The provincial leaders asked the border guard force to maintain sufficient personnel at border posts, and bolster patrol at trails and border crossings along with information sharing with the Cambodian side.