DIRECTIVE

ON SOCIAL DISTANCING IN HANOI FOR COVID-19 PREVENTION AND CONTROL

The pandemic is progressing unpredictably in Hanoi and other places around the country with the highly infectious Delta variant. New community transmission cases have been recorded with unknown infection sources, meaning that there is substantial infection risk unless serious measures are taken to contain the disease. Following directions of the Politburo, Secretariat, Government, Prime Minister and National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control and conclusions of the meeting of Standing Committee of Hanoi Party Committee on 23/7/2021, and to protect Hanoi’s safety and people’s health, Chairperson of Hanoi People’s Committee promulgates a Directive on social distancing according to the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 16/CT-TTg dated 31/3/2020 as follows:

1. Implement social distancing in all parts of Hanoi for 15 days starting from 06:00 of 24/7/2021 between families, neighborhoods, wards and districts, and between Hanoi and other provinces; essential service providers and factories must comply with COVID-19 safety regulations.

The whole political system and governments at all levels shall prioritize COVID-19 containment; suspend all non-urgent activities and meetings; hold necessary meetings online; inspect and supervise timely and proper performance of tasks assigned in this Directive and strictly handle violations.

Hanoi government, ministries and district- and commune-level People’s Committees shall publish COVID-19 hotlines for people to contact where necessary; and organize 24/7 shifts to promptly deal with urgent issues.

State-level political and diplomatic activities in Hanoi shall be carried out with the permission of the competent authority and in compliance with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

2. Requirements for people

People are recommended to stay home and only go out where strictly necessary such as for food, medicines, emergency aid, medical services, vaccination and other emergency situations; and may carry out official business and work at workplaces, office buildings, factories, manufacturing establishments and establishments providing essential goods and services permitted to operate. Keep a distance of at least 2m when meeting other people and do not form groups of more than 2 people outside of office buildings, schools, hospitals and public places.

Make daily health declaration on the www.tokhaiyte.vn website or Ncovi or Bluezone application. Immediately contact local government/ healthcare facility when developing fever, cough, breathing difficulty, loss of taste, etc.

People traveling to Hanoi for official business, COVID-19 control or production purpose must make health declaration and comply with medical monitoring and quarantine measures required by Hanoi.

Following the Prime Minister’s motto of “each citizen must be a soldier and each family must be a fortress to fight the pandemic together”, every person must join the fight against COVID-19 together with their communities and governments at all levels.

People are advised to remain calm and support measures taken against COVID-19. Hanoi government has directed sufficient preparation of food and essential products, thus, it is not necessary for people to stockpile goods. People going out where unnecessary face high risk of community infection. Households, management boards of apartment buildings, factories and manufacturing establishments shall check their electrical equipment and fire safety equipment to prevent fire and explosions.

3. Requirements for businesses

Suspend operation of all businesses, excluding the following: shopping malls, supermarkets, local markets, convenience stores, minimarkets, grocery stores, fruit stores and agro product and food stores providing essential products for local people; pharmacies, stores selling medical equipment and consumables supporting medical examination, treatment and COVID-19 containment; healthcare facilities, banks, treasuries, providers of services directly related to banking activities and supporting enterprises (such as notary services, lawyer services, vehicle registration, secured transaction registration, etc.), securities services, postal services, telecommunications services, and services supporting freight transport, import and export, rehabilitation centers and social protection facilities. Funerals shall be held with no more than 20 family members and without procession.

Businesses providing essential products and services must meet COVID-19 prevention and control conditions and the heads of these businesses must take responsibility for ensuring the safety of their workers and the community; control and request all people who come to buy their products or use their services to make health declaration via QR Code. 

4. Requirements for urgent key construction works, manufacturing establishments and factories

4.1. Factories and manufacturing establishments outside of industrial parks/industry clusters must register their operation with the commune-level People’s Committee (number and list of workers, plan for safe production during outbreak and operating time) and strictly comply with COVID-19 regulations; take responsibility before local government for their COVID-19 prevention and control activities.

4.2. For factories and manufacturing establishments in industrial parks/industry clusters

Chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees shall take charge and cooperate with heads of Industrial Park and Export Processing Zone Management Board and Department of Industry and Trade in taking full responsibility for and adopting measures against COVID-19 in industrial parks/industry clusters, ensuring COVID-19 safety and uninterrupted production; managing accommodations and movements of workers in industrial parks/industry clusters in areas under their management.

Factories in industrial parks/industry clusters must plan for safe manufacturing according to "3 on-sites: on-site manufacturing, meals and accommodations” or “1 route 2 destinations”, obtain approval for the plans from the district-level People’s Committee and properly apply approved plans. Prepare plans and scenarios for safe manufacturing maintenance in case factories are quarantined with factories as the locations for quarantine and stable manufacturing.

District-level People’s Committees shall take charge and cooperate with Vietnam Fatherland Front, workplace trade unions and enterprise owners in regularly caring and providing essential products for workers.

4.3. For urgent key construction works: Department of Transport and Department of Construction shall cooperate with relevant units in reporting to Hanoi People’s Committee, which will consider permitting construction to continue, to ensure that the projects are on schedule; construction must ensure COVID-19 safety.

5. Requirements for workplaces, office buildings, enterprises and corporations

Workplaces, office buildings, enterprises and corporations (excluding urgent and important political and diplomatic activities permitted by the competent authority; and forces and activities supporting COVID-19 prevention and control) shall enable officials and public employees to work from home using information technology; only those in charge of essential operations such as on-call shifts, essential goods provision, confidential document handling and other necessary duties may work at their workplaces. Leaders shall take responsibility for officials and workers infected with COVID-19 due to improper compliance with COVID-19 safety regulations.

6. Requirements for transport activities

Suspend passenger transport by automobiles, watercrafts, buses, taxies, rented vehicles, tourist transport vehicles, interprovincial passenger transport vehicles, river-crossing wharves, inland waterway terminals, public transit and motorbikes (including motorbikes using ride-hailing applications and traditional bike taxis), unless it is for COVID-19 containment, official business, diplomatic purpose and transport of workers and experts.

Freight transport must comply with COVID-19 prevention and control requirements according to guidelines of the Department of Transport (essential goods transport may use "green lanes" to enter Hanoi).

7. For trade and provision of essential goods and manufacturing ingredients

Utilize product sources and ensure smooth circulation to promptly and sufficiently provide essential goods for people as well as ingredients for uninterrupted production.

8. Requirements for Hanoi Headquarters and Headquarters of ministries and local governments

Hanoi Headquarters shall be established on the premises of Hanoi People's Committee to promptly direct COVID-19 prevention and control via 24/7 online supervision system and information and reporting systems.

Hanoi Headquarters shall be under complete direction of Chairperson of Hanoi People’s Committee; Deputy Chairpersons of Hanoi People’s Committee shall direct areas and tasks assigned.

Heads of ministries and Chairpersons of district-level and commune-level People’s Committees shall establish and directly manage Headquarters of areas under their management to direct COVID-19 prevention and control and implementation of this Directive, ensuring reports are submitted promptly and sufficiently to Hanoi Headquarters according to regulations.

Headquarters of ministries and local governments shall submit plans for implementing promulgated Directive and personnel and contact assignment to Hanoi Headquarters before 12:00 of 24/7/2021.

9. Reporting and announcement requirements

Heads of ministries of Hanoi and Chairpersons of district-level and commune-level People’s Committees shall submit daily reports at 6:00, 12:00 and 18:00 and reports where necessary.

Propagation Department of Hanoi Party Committee shall cooperate with Department of Information and Communications in proactively advising and reporting for Deputy Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee to direct all communications, announcements and provision of information to the press, and implementing this Directive as assigned by Standing Committee of Hanoi Party Committee.

10. Heads of ministries of Hanoi shall urgently formulate plans for implementing and providing guidance on implementing this Directive as appropriate to tasks assigned to areas under their management, propose the plans to in-charge Deputy Chairperson(s) of Hanoi People’s Committee for approval and direct adoption of the plans. These tasks shall be completed before 10:00 of 24/7/2021.

10.1. Department of Health shall:

- Carry out epidemiological investigations, sample collection and testing as soon as practicable to identify and eliminate hotspots.

- Direct, classify into groups, ensure absolute safety in healthcare facilities in Hanoi.

- Take charge and cooperate with district-level People’s Committees in reviewing, revising and carrying out vaccination according to plans and the pandemic’s situation.

- Provide sufficient medical equipment for testing, be ready for large-scale testing; cooperate with central hospitals and hospitals affiliated to ministries in Hanoi in improving testing capacity.

- Cooperate with Hanoi High Command and Department of Construction in launching plans for expanding centralized quarantine facilities for F1 cases and other cases according to directions of Hanoi People’s Committee; establish temporary hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms; assign hospitals to treat severe cases.

- Provide guidance on implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign for district-level governments, ensuring transparent and safe vaccination.

10.2. Hanoi Police shall:

- Take charge and cooperate with Department of Transport in maintaining checkpoints to supervise compliance with COVID-19 measures of people according to the rules provided in Section 1; persons and vehicles traveling from other provinces to Hanoi; and strictly handling violations.

- Direct district-level and commune-level police forces to impose social distancing according to directions of Hanoi government; cooperate with other regulatory bodies in controlling compliance with COVID-19 measures in areas under their management.

- Further direct protection of public order and security and crime prevention in Hanoi; and adoption of COVID-19 prevention and control measures in detention centers managed by the police force.

10.3. Capital High Command shall:

- Cooperate with healthcare forces in managing centralized quarantine facilities in Hanoi, separating those starting to undergo quarantine from those already quarantined, ensuring appropriate quarantine density and preventing the disease from spreading inside centralized quarantine facilities and to the community.

- Take charge and cooperate with the Department of Construction, Department of Health, Department of Finance and district-level People’s Committees in establishing centralized quarantine facilities in Hanoi for 50.000 people and providing equipment for these facilities.

- Organize and direct military forces to join COVID-19 prevention and control upon request and cooperate with the Chemical Arm in disinfection where necessary.

10.4. Department of Industry and Trade shall:

Take charge of providing food and essential products for people; plan for stockpiling in case of prolonged social distancing.

- Closely cooperate with other central-affiliated cities and provinces in connecting supply - demand as well as consolidating and providing information on essential goods and seasonal agro products for distributors, supermarkets, markets and food stores in Hanoi to provide and stockpile goods.

- Draw up and send lists of vehicles transporting essential goods and manufacturing ingredients and transport schedules to the Department of Transport for coordination, ensuring smooth journeys.

- Publish lists of goods providers, markets, supermarkets, convenience stores and mobile business points (when they are put into use) selling essential goods.

- Inspect and supervise compliance with regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control in business operations.

10.5. Department of Transport shall:

- Reorganize transport to meet requirements of this Directive.

- Cooperate with the Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Health, Industrial Park and Export Processing Zone Management Board and Hanoi Police in planning “green lanes” for smooth travel of vehicles transporting essential goods, workers and experts.

- Cooperate with Hanoi Police in manning checkpoints.

- Allow some workers to repair expansion joints of bridges and roads with the conditions that each construction site has no more than 10 people and they all wear protective equipment and take COVID-19 preventive measures.

10.6. Department of Construction shall:

- Suspend civil construction works in Hanoi.

- Direct water suppliers and environmental hygiene and drainage units to fulfill demand in Hanoi.

- Take charge and cooperate with Department of Health and Department of Finance in reviewing and reporting on utilizing unused construction works for COVID-19 containment to Hanoi People’s Committee.

10.7. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall direct and maintain agricultural production, irrigation services supporting agricultural production, activities supporting the raising of livestock, poultry and aquatic products, agro product harvesting and aquatic product provision for Hanoi; ensure COVID-19 safety by requesting workers to use facemasks and keep a distance of at least 2 m.

10.8. Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall ensure social security for policy beneficiaries, poor people and people who lost their jobs and have no unemployment insurance according to Decision No. 3642/QD-UBND dated 21/7/2021 by Hanoi People’s Committee; cooperate with Hanoi Social Security in providing unemployment insurance for workers. Properly direct COVID-19 prevention and control in rehabilitation centers, social protection facilities and nursing centers for people with meritorious service.

10.9. Department of Finance shall advise on and propose funding for COVID-19 prevention and control upon request.

10.10. Department of Information and Communications shall cooperate with Propagation Department of Hanoi Party Committee in providing press agencies with guidance on raising awareness about the fight against COVID-19; calling for support for policies on protecting people's health; strictly handling misleading information affecting COVID-19 containment in Hanoi.

10.11. Industrial Park and Export Processing Zone Management Board shall:

Direct enterprises in industrial parks to adopt measures against COVID-19 according to the Prime Minister’s directions.

Draw up and send lists of vehicles transporting workers and experts of industrial parks and transport schedules to the Department of Transport for coordination, ensuring smooth journeys.

11. Chairpersons of district-level People’s Committees shall urgently formulate plans for implementing this Directive as appropriate to task requirements and the situation in their districts, propose their plans to members of Standing Committee of Hanoi Party Committee in charge of their districts for consideration and approval and adopt their plans. The following tasks shall be completed by 10:00 of 24/7/2021:

- Give comprehensive directions on social distancing in Hanoi. Direct wards and communes to formulate plans for implementing this Directive, assign forces to inspect and supervise and, based on local situation, consider establishing checkpoints to supervise quarantine; ensure local public order and social safety.

- Proactively prepare plans for providing and transporting essential products for quarantined areas.

- Ensure compliance with the 4 on-site rules in COVID-19 prevention and control in their districts. Cooperate with Department of Industry and Trade in ensuring provision of food and essential products where necessary.

- Urgently, robustly and seriously adopt solutions to COVID-19 in their districts according to directions of Hanoi Party Committee, Hanoi People’s Committee and Hanoi Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control as well as guidelines of the healthcare sector and regulatory bodies.

- Urgently verify all people coming from infected areas, close contacts of patients, contacts of close contacts and other relevant cases to place them under quarantine and collect samples according to regulations.

- Take measures to ensure social security and social benefits for policy beneficiaries, poor people and vulnerable groups, and prevent food shortage. Direct payment of pension for 2 months (August and September of 2021) in lump sum and wage payment via ATM cards and at home.

Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Hanoi, socio-political organizations of Hanoi, heads of ministries and mass organizations of Hanoi, Chairpersons of district-level and commune-level People’s Committees, and relevant organizations, units and individuals shall implement this Directive properly.

12. Ministries, central government authorities, embassies, diplomatic missions and international organizations in Hanoi and People’s Committees of relevant provinces and central-affiliated cities shall cooperate in adopting the COVID-19 prevention and control measures provided in this Directive./.

---------------

This document is handled by Vinas Doc. Document reference purposes only. Any comments, please send to email: [email protected]