Cities, provinces deploy varying Covid-19 containment measures

Starting April 27, Vietnam has suffered a new Covid-19 community outbreak with different clusters from north to south. Previously, the nation had gone over a month without community infections.

By Thursday morning, 64 locally-transmitted cases have been recorded in 10 localities, including 27 in Hanoi and 14 each in northern Ha Nam and Vinh Phuc provinces.

Following those confirmed cases, different localities have now reported the first positive test results of people that had come into close contact with Covid-19 patients, prompting action.

Hanoi has called on its citizens to not go out unnecessarily or form large gatherings in public, even for exercising and other sporting activities.

The capital city and Ho Chi Minh City, the country's largest metropolises, have since the end of last month closed karaoke and massage parlors, bars, and dance clubs, and suspended sporting events.

The same move to suspend such non-essential services has been applied by Da Nang City and Nghe An Province in the central region, as well as Lao Cai Province in the north.

Da Nang has recorded two Covid cases, HCMC one while Nghe An and Lao Cai have none.

Northern Thai Binh Province has applied social distancing across the region starting Thursday noon after five contracted the novel coronavirus. The social distancing model bans gatherings of over 20 people in a place and gatherings of 10 people or more outside workplaces, schools and hospitals. It also requires a minimum distance of two meters between people in public.

Northern province Bac Ninh, with six people testing positive Thursday, has also told its people not to go out if it is not necessary, and stopped all non-essential services while nearby Yen Bai Province has isolated a district of 6,100 residents after reporting five Covid patients.

By Thursday morning, 18 cities and provinces, including Hanoi and Da Nang, have let students stay home to study online. A few of them have planned to let students return to school next week but most have decided to maintain home-schooling until it is safe enough to resume class.

Ho Chi Minh City has planned to let its more than 1.7 million students from kindergarten to high school levels to stay home from next week, by pushing for the final school year exams to be finished this week, one to two weeks earlier then previous schedule.

All tourism services have been put on hold at top attractions in Quang Ninh, including Ha Long Bay, and in Quang Nam, home to Hoi An ancient town.

In a similar move, the northern port city of Hai Phong has decided to stop receiving visitors for now.