Hanoi’s authorities have issued a document on strict compliance with anti-pandemic measures in festivities in the city, celebration of the 13th National Party Congress and the Lunar New Year 2021.

The document cited Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung’s conclusions on safety measures at celebrations and festivals when the Covid-19 pandemic becomes more serious in Vietnam and in the world.

Accordingly, festivals in the city will be held only when they are really necessary and must ensure Covid-19 prevention and control measures in accordance with the regulations.

The festival plans must follow the actual requirements, especially the instructions of the Government, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Hanoi authorities on the pandemic prevention.

If an outbreak of Covid-19 happens in the city, with risk of infection in the community, Hanoi's authorities will suspend all festivals in accordance with regulations.

Hanoi's residents are still squeezing to go to Phu Tay Ho ceremony despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Nguyen Pham

Hanoi closes the loopholes in regulations covering quarantine facilities with a view to preventing community transmission of novel coronavirus at all costs.

Localities in Hanoi must tighten supervision of people arriving from abroad and enforce Covid-19 prevention regulations at concentrated quarantine facilities.

Relevant agencies were urged to review procedures related to concentrated quarantine, as all citizens returning from abroad must be quarantined for two weeks and could only leave the facilities if they test negative with Covid-19 twice.

“The measures aim at keeping people alert to the pandemic that remains unpredictable as Vietnam and Hanoi in particular are at high risk of imported transmission,” the vice chairman said in the document.

He urged people to further comply with Covid-19 prevention regulations to prevent the outbreak and conduct precautionary measures of quick testing, contact tracing, masking up in public places, and washing hands.

“The authorities must strictly handle cases defying Covid-19 prevention protocols, prepare medical supplies for Covid-19 prevention and strictly control concentrated isolation establishments,” Mr. Dung noted.

Especially, the city’s Department of Health needs to keep close watch on the pandemic evolution by imposing five step protocol namely preventing, detecting, quarantining, zoning, and stamping out the outbreaks.

“The health sector needs to ensure enough resources for dealing with any outbreak,” Mr. Dung stressed.

He added that the city’s agencies will have to continue disseminating the "5K" message of the Ministry of Health since the good observance of the 5K is a "steel shield" to protect people from the Covid-19 pandemic. 5K means "Khau trang" (face mask) - "Khu khuan" (disinfection) - "Khoang cach" (distance) - "Khong tu tap" (no gatherings) - "Khai bao y te" (health declaration).

Local residents are still recommended to regularly wash hands with soap or hand sanitizers, clean surfaces and frequently touched objects (door knobs, mobile phones, tablets, tables, and chairs). People are also asked to keep safe distance with each other and avoid mass gatherings.

The country reported only 1,651 cases and 35 Covid-19 deaths by January 28, which earned the country a place in the top three in a survey of how well countries have handled the pandemic.