Hanoi needs to further strengthen inspection of compliance of anti-Covid-19 measures as community transmission risk remains high, Kinh Te & Do Thi quoted Chairwoman of the municipal People's Council Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc as saying.

At the city's Steering Committee on Covid -19 Prevention and Control meeting on August 21, Ms. Ngoc emphasized that pandemic prevention is considered a focal task and the responsibility of the entire political system.

Chairwoman of the municipal People's Council Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc speaks at the meeting. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

On a street, some have complied with pandemic prevention, but others have not practiced social distancing. Districts and towns need to check and handle violations, especially the sidewalk shops. "Hanoi also needs to organize functional teams for holding surprise inspections in districts and towns,” Ms. Ngoc noted.

She stressed that districts and towns need to draw experiences from the previous Covid-19 wave in the capital city and from Danang city to be able to come up with the optimal pandemic prevention options in the current phase.

"We must stay on guard to prevent the pandemic," the official said.

For his part, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Ngo Van Quy said that the municipal government would hold a conference between the Ministry of Health and all hospitals in the city to drastically implement measures on pandemic prevention on August 22.

Mr. Quy noted that the risk of Covid-19 infection persists as the results of more than 22,000 samples of returnees from the epicenter of Danang city have not been released yet.

Besides, the current biggest risk lies in hospitals, food and beverage shops, public gatherings, among others. These are the places where Covid-19 outbreaks have spread in the country, Mr. Quy added.

“The municipal government has to regularly check and guide the people to prevent the pandemic. Whenever there appears a Covid-19 infected case reported by the people or the press, the authority must handle it immediately,” said the vice mayor, who now heads the Hanoi Steerinng Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

He also requested that the municipal Departments of Health, Education and Training issue guidelines on Covid-19 prevention for new school year ceremonies at educational institutions by August 24. Pandemic prevention at educational institutions is extremely important because large gatherings of students are expected when the academic year starts in September.

Statistics show Hanoi has registered 11 locally acquired coronavirus cases since the second Covid-19 wave broke out in Danang city in late July. The city has tested nearly 50,000 samples of returnees from Danang and all have shown negative results.