Hanoi authorities are calling for increased vigilance against the spread of COVID-19 and requresting local residents to refrain from leaving their homes unless out of necessity.  

Following last week’s re-emergence of COVID-19 in Vietnam, Chu Ngoc Anh, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, urged city officials of all levels to guard against the risk of widespread outbreaks in an official letter issued on Wednesday.

City authorities have also been tasked with taking the lead in complying with Vietnam’s official COVID-19 prevention mandates.

The official document also urged city residents to refrain from leaving their homes unless necessary, as well as to file health declarations, don face masks, avoid large crowds, and socially distance in public spaces. 

Chairman Anh charged health authorities with remaining vigilant against COVID-19 transmission in health facilities in order to continue treating the sick and minimize human loss. 

Contact tracing must also be prioritized, with all direct contacts of local infection cases to be tested and quarantined and indirect contacts put under scrutiny, he said.

Epidemiological investigations should focus on specific areas in order to minimize disruption to businesses while effectively containing outbreaks. 

Areas isolated following the detection of COVID-19 cases should be thoroughly cordoned off and households inside such areas instructed to maintain social distancing.

With legislative elections slated for May 23, the Hanoi chairman called on all voting venues in the city to remain diligent in their efforts to uphold COVID-19 prevention measures. 

On Wednesday, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health announced 14 new coronavirus cases at the Dong Anh District branch of the local National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, a central-level hospital that tends to COVID-19 patients. The hospital has since been placed on lockdown.

Vietnam has confirmed 3,030 coronavirus infections, with 2,560 recoveries and 35 deaths, since the virus first struck the country on January 23, 2020, according to health ministry data.

The government has so far vaccinated almost 676,000 individuals since rolling out its first immunization campaign on March 8, according to a statement posted to Facebook via a verified health ministry account on Thursday.  

The campaign was restricted to medical staff and frontline workers.

Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and other provinces have shuttered non-essential services such as karaoke parlors, nightclubs, discos, and online game centers to quell the virus.