Chairman of the Hanoi municipal People's Committee Chu Ngoc Anh on July 18 ordered halting all non-essential services amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accordingly, Hanoi citizens are required to stay at home and only go out when necessary such as business trip, food and medicine purchase, and other emergency cases like health check-ups and treatment.
| Hanoi citizens are required to stay at home and only go out when necessary. Photo: chaoHanoi. |
The municipal authorities also asked residents not to gather more than five people outside the workplaces, schools and hospitals, and fill in health declarations on the website www.tokhaiyte.vn or apps Ncovi and Bluezone.
Agencies, businesses, including foreign-invested ones, were urged to actively outline online working or work-in-shift plans.
Shopping malls, supermarkets, wholesale and wet markets in the city only sell necessities. Public transport means must reduce seats by half.
| The city directed preparing sufficient food and necessities in every case. Photo: chaoHanoi. |
On the same day, from now until July 25, the Hanoi Department of Health urges its preventive medicine units to step up screening COVID-19 testing targeting people considered at-risk as the city has seen a spike in locally-infected cases over the last several days.
The city also plans to check on and test bus drivers, driver assistants and ticket salesmen as well as people returning from Bac Ninh, Bac Giang and other cities and provinces under city- or province-wide social distancing order.
These returnees are required to undergo self-quarantine for 14 days from their date of arrival in Hanoi. Screening tests can be conducted using pooled sample RT-PCR strategy or antigen rapid testing method.
Currently, Hanoi detected a total of 442 COVID-19 cases during the fourth wave starting April 27, including 183 cases from July 5.