Hanoi targets to test all its residents for the novel coronavirus and put the pandemic under control by September 15, local authorities have said.

In a dispatch issued on Monday evening, chairman of the city’s administration Chu Ngoc Anh ordered relevant agencies to ramp up their efforts to drive back the coronavirus spread by next Wednesday and revive the capital's socio-economic development.

To this end, all residents will be tested for the coronavirus by September 12, Anh said in the document.

In areas at very high risk of COVID-19 contagion, locals will have samples taken for testing once every two or three days, and the frequency for high-risk areas should be once every five or seven days.

In other areas, samples will be collected at least once.

Safe vaccination must be given to all eligible residents, pursuant to to the prime minister’s principle that “the best vaccine is the one administered at the earliest,” the dispatch said.

It is imperative to complete first-dose vaccination for 100 percent of locals aged 18 or older by September 15 and to give second shots to those who have got the first one based on the required interval between the two jabs.

Immunization priority should be given to COVID-19 frontline workers, elderly people, pregnant women, and people with underlying health conditions.

Current strict restrictions must be maintained across the capital city, especially in COVID-19 high-risk areas, to ensure the efficiency of epidemic prevention and control activities.

In addition to asking locals to stay home and only go outside with appropriate reasons, authorities of all levels are required to ensure social welfare for people, not leaving anyone in need of food.  

Chairman Anh has also told local police to suport organizations and individuals allowed to operate during the social distancing period, avoiding any disruption to supply chains.

All violations of epidemic prevention rules must be strictly handled, the mayor said.

By Monday evening, the numbers of people receiving the first and second vaccine doses in Hanoi, whose population is around eight million, had exceeded 2.82 million and 420,600, respectively, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

The capital city has recorded 4,119 coronavirus cases and 47 deaths since the pandemic erupted in Vietnam in early 2020, the Ministry of Health reported.

Nationwide, there have been 536,788 coronavirus infection cases and 13,385 fatalities.

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