The Hanoi Party Committee has requested forces in the city to promtly detect and handle illegal and unreported immigration into the city to prevent the intrusion of the novel cororavirus as sources of recent Covid-19 transmission in Vietnam have not been identified.

Police officers in Hanoi set up a barrier in front of an alley where a Covid-19 patient lives. Photo: Tat Dinh

According to a document dispatched on July 28 on Covid-19 prevention and control in the city, the committee made clear that due to Covid-19 outbreaks in Danang city and Quang Ngai province, Hanoi has faced high risk of infection given a large number of people returning from Danang over the past month.

It's estimated that over 20,000 people have returned to Hanoi from the beach city of Danang where the first local transmission was detected on July 24 after more than three months without community infection.

Police have uncovered several cases of illegal entry of Chinese in some provinces and cities.

Districts in the city need to coordinate with the functional forces to detect illegal entry and put them under quarantine, strictly handle organizations and individuals involved in trafficking or harboring people who entered Vietnam illegally. If illegal residence is detected in any locality, its leaders will be held responsible.

The municipal government and the city Steering Committee for Disease Prevention and Control have been also assigned to screen, isolate and early collect samples for testing of those who have returned to Hanoi from Danang city and Quang Nam province since July 8.

Those who have traveled to areas of high Covid-19 infection risk may self-isolate at home, make medical declarations, have body temperature checked, and be taken samples for coronavirus testing.

The Hanoi Party Committee has requested local accommodation establishments to be responsible for declaring tourist information for health supervision, apply information technology to control travelers' itineraries for epidemiological surveillance.

Besides, the city must ensure human resources, equipment and supplies for Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control, according to the document.

Hanoi police are requested to closely monitored people who are put under quarantine at facilities managed by the army.

Press agencies in the city are tasked with strengthening dissemination to raise people's awareness in the pandemic prevention and control.

Hanoi has so far detected two people infected with the novel coronavirus who returned from Danang.