Hanoi Chairman: “The safety window is closing, but there is still a chance if citizens unite to seriously implement isolation and stay at home to prevent the disease from spreading”

On the afternoon of March 25, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung presided over a meeting of the Covid-19 Prevention and Control Steering Committee.

According to Mr. Chung, during phase 1, Vietnam only had transmission sources from China, but now the sources of infection come from all countries with outbreaks, especially Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia. The last countries with borders with us, such as Laos and Cambodia, have also reported cases.

“Currently, the potential risks are becoming increasingly complex and the transmission in the community is greater”, Mr. Chung emphasized.

According to preliminary figures, the city has identified 3,042 people (including Vietnamese citizens and foreigners) who entered through Noi Bai airport to Hanoi. Authorities have detected and sampled 2,128 people, of which 993 have results, with 4 positive cases.

According to Mr. Chung, if calculated based on this rate, Hanoi still has at least 8-12 positive cases that have not yet been detected and are waiting for results, or are among the 1,000 people whose samples have not been taken. If calculated based on the average rate worldwide, the city has more than 20 positive cases.

City leaders assess that the epidemic situation now poses a greater risk of community infection, and the “safety window” is narrowing. In the city, there is a risk of very complex outbreaks that may begin to develop.

The risk of community infection is due to people not strictly adhering to wearing masks and gathering in large numbers, such as going to Tay Ho Shrine for ceremonies on the first day of the month. Coffee shops remain open, and people are sitting very close together.

“I want to warn that from March 6 (BN17) to now (BN134), the Tropical Diseases Hospital has received and treated over 50 people. The scenario of 1,000 people, if not well prepared, will likely result in a few dozen nurses and doctors getting infected at this rate.” From that, Mr. Chung emphasized that all medical staff must strictly adhere to the Ministry of Health’s procedures: living together and isolating for an additional 14 days from the time the last patient tests negative.

“We only have the best preventive measure, which is for everyone to stay at home, to isolate to prevent infection. We have an advantage over Wuhan and European countries in that the rate of people wearing masks has been higher recently. However, we still move around and gather, posing greater risks of infection,” said the Chairman of Hanoi.

Mr. Chung predicts that we cannot rule out new sources of infection in the coming days. Therefore, the Hanoi government recommends that all citizens stay home as much as possible, and if they must go out, they must wear masks and maintain a safe distance of 2-3 meters.

Officially requesting non-essential service stores, except retail petrol stations, pharmacies, fruit and vegetable stores, and food stores, to close until April 5. Bars, restaurants, karaoke bars, gyms, etc., must also stop operating, regardless of whether they are in the city center or outskirts.

All cases required to report for isolation, foreign citizens, Vietnamese citizens, and Hanoi citizens coming from Southeast Asian epidemic areas, or from Ho Chi Minh City, tourist areas, or on flights with infections, must self-isolate at home and promptly declare information for testing.

The city has decided to allow only 20% of buses to operate for the transportation of civil servants, while advising citizens not to use public transport at this time.

All relatives of children at centralized isolation centers are advised not to send gifts “to supply”. The city has organized logistics for meals that ensure health. In case of “supply”, there could inadvertently be a large amount of waste that is difficult to handle, posing significant danger and risk of disease transmission. Mr. Chung particularly assigned police and security forces to strictly handle cases of intentional violations.

At prisons and detention centers in the city, Mr. Chung requested that all cases detained after March 14 be kept separately, not sharing rooms with old inmates.

Regarding this issue, the city police reported that on March 24, they received some individuals from outside who showed symptoms of cough and fever upon entering the facility. The city police requested the authorities to allow these individuals to undergo testing.

The Hanoi leadership encourages frontline medical staff, preparing to work in the best spirit, recognizing that this will be a long-term job, not just for 10-15 days. In the coming time, the Disease Control Center will accelerate testing to above 5,000.

“The city is at risk, the safety window is closing, but we still have a chance if all citizens unite to seriously implement isolation and stay at home to prevent the disease from spreading. We still have golden time, although the golden time is closing.

Only with the participation of citizens, with the spirit of first protecting themselves, their families, and then for the community and responsibility to the city and the country, can we prevent the epidemic. If people go out without masks and continue to gather for coffee, the rate of transmission will be very fast. Therefore, we hope citizens realize the risk, thereby having awareness and responsibility.”

Mr. Chung reiterated once again, that the next 1-2 weeks is a decisive time for Hanoi and Vietnam to win the battle against Covid-19. We have “locked down” and minimized the transmission routes, which is the safety window that will open wider.