Hanoi's authorities have decided to close street eateries, sidewalk iced tea stalls and cafés as well as relics, temples and religious sites to avoid public gatherings as risk remains high in the community with more Covid-19 infections reported in recent days.

All these unessential services have been barred from 05:00pm on May 3 as community infections in the city has become more serious and unpredictable.

This is one of the measures aimed at strengthening Covid-19 prevention and control, said an Official Letter of the Hanoi People’s Committee on the afternoon of May 3.

Hanoi deploys forces to ask sidewalk food stall owners to shut down their businesses to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Photo: VNA

The Hanoi People’s Committee asked local authorities to prepare different scenarios on the assumption of a large-scale Covid-19 outbreak, while taking urgent actions to investigate, trace and test those in close contact with new Covid-19 infections.

Localities should be updated on the pandemic situation in the northern provinces of Vinh Phuc, Ha Nam and Hung Yen so as to trace returnees from Covid-19 affected zones for testing and quarantining, the official letter noted, urging them to inspect the compliance with regulations on entry, medical isolation, and pandemic prevention and control.

After over a month without community transmissions, Vietnam has recorded 24 new cases since April 29 located in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, provinces of Ha Nam, Hung Yen and Vinh Phuc.

Facing serious evolution of the novel coronavirus, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have also decided to shut down all non-essential business and service establishments from 6:00 pm on May 3, including beauty salons, karaoke palours, dance halls, bars, pubs, beer clubs, massage and sauna parlours, e-game stores, cinemas, among others.

Illegal Chinese immigrants found in Hanoi

Some 46 Chinese people were found illegally residing in Nam Tu Liem district of Hanoi since late April amid concerns regarding recent coronavirus outbreaks in Vietnam.

Illegal Chinese immigrants found in Hanoi. Photo: Nhu Quynh

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung said the Chinese would be tested for Covid-19 and be transferred to a centralized quarantine zone in Hoang Mai district. They were discovered by police on May 2 night.

Dung reiterated the three main sources that pose Covid-19 risks for Hanoi are those who return to the city from other localities, those entering Vietnam legally and are put into centralized quarantine zones, and those who enter the country illegally.

Despite Hanoi's best efforts to prevent illegal entry, there are still some who manage to slip through. Citizens, especially residences like hotels, should report illegal entrants to authorities for Covid-19 prevention, the vice chairman stressed.

He noted that six Covid-19 cases in Vinh Phuc were employees of a bar in the province who came into close contact with a group of Chinese experts who tested positive for the coronavirus after returning to China later. The remaining cases in other locations are all linked to a Ha Nam man who returned from Japan.

Vietnam's total coronavirus patients stands at 2,962, with 35 deaths.