Vietnam’s capital Hanoi has suspended non-essential businesses and required locals to stay at home, among other measures, in an effort to curb increasing coronavirus infections.

In an official document released on Sunday afternoon, Hanoi authorities decided to apply many urgent measures from 0:00 am on Monday to cope with the COVID-19 spread.

Accordingly, Hanoi has ordered the closure of non-essential businesses and services, limited public gatherings to five people, requested a minimum distance of two meters between people, and required locals to stay at home unless they go out for food, medicine, or other emergencies.

The Hanoi administration encourages people to use e-commerce and home delivery services and to make regular medical declarations when they go out.

Food and beverage outlets are required to provide takeout only, and health declarations with QR codes are mandatory at educational institutions, banks, treasuries, postal and telecommunications service providers, transport firms, goods importers and exporters, and medical examination and treatment facilities.

A working model under which 50 percent of operations are made online is required for all municipal agencies and city-based central bodies, enterprises, and business groups including those with foreign investment.

All commercial centers and markets must comply with epidemic prevention and control regulations.

People coming to Hanoi from other localities must make health declarations before entering the capital city.

Drivers of vehicles carrying goods into the city must have negative COVID-19 test certificates with three days of validity and comply with epidemic control rules.

Passenger transport firms are required to operate at 50 percent of their capacity, except for public services transporting workers to and from work and carrying people to quarantine facilities.

For the time being, wedding parties must not be conducted and funerals must limit attendance to 30 people, subject to local health agencies' supervision.

The Ministry of Health on Monday morning confirmed 2,015 new COVID-19 cases, including 2,014 domestic cases. The new cases have taken the country’s tally to 55,845, including 10,667 recoveries, as recorded since early 2020.

Of the latest cases, 12 cases were detected in Hanoi while 1,535 infections logged in Ho Chi Minh City, which has recently led the country in daily new infections, with thousands of patients confirmed per day.

Since April 27, when the pandemic’s fourth wave appeared in Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have accounted for over 600 and nearly 33,000 cases, respectively, in the country’s total of 52,215 domestic infections.

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