Entrants to Hanoi from certain districts and cities of Hai Duong Province, the current COVID-19 epicenter in Vietnam, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days for monitoring, according to the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (Hanoi CDC).

The direction was stated on Monday by Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi CDC during a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control to review the state of COVID-19 transmission in Hai Duong.

According to Tuan, Hai Duong reported four cases of COVID-19 transmission on Saturday, all of whom are in isolated zones, while other cases of direct transmission from the infected have been quarantined.

Hai Duong has required its districts to comply with sets of COVID-19 prevention regulations.

Specifically, Hai Duong City, Kinh Mon Town, Cam Giang District, and Kim Thanh District will have to follow the prime minister’s directive No. 16, which requires safe distancing in public places and prohibits big social gatherings, until March 17.

As the risk of transmission from the four locales remains high, returnees to Hanoi from these places will be obliged to self-isolate and monitor their health for 14 days.

“Individuals who took COVID-19 tests with a negative result that came no more than three days earlier will be allowed to return to work and study right away,” Tuan added.

During the meeting, Nguyen Hong Dan, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, said requisite measures have been prepared to welcome students back to schools and universities under the department’s management, which is slated to start March 8.

The department has required schools and universities under its management to thoroughly fumigate their campuses.

Body temperature checkpoints and isolation rooms for suspected transmission cases have also been prepared, while mandatory mask wearing will be required for students.

“Students from outbreak sites must obtain negative COVID-19 test results and submit medical declarations to the authorities of residential areas as well as their education institutions,” Dan said.

Vietnam has recorded 2,472 coronavirus cases as of Tuesday morning, with 1,892 recoveries and 35 virus-related fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

In the latest wave which started in late January, Hanoi recorded 35 cases, but it has so far gone two weeks without any new transmission.

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