Control posts at the 22 entrances of Hanoi will no longer implement epidemic screenings of passing vehicles and passengers, but police officers will still stay on duty to handle the traffic.

The direction was announced by the municipal Department of Information and Communications on Friday.

It mentioned the 22 checkpoints in Hanoi, which were erected on July 14 at gateways to the capital city to control the spread of the coronavirus.

The department’s notice also stated that these checkpoints will still deploy traffic police on duty, except for those at post No. 8 in neighboring Hung Yen Province who will withdraw as the checkpoint gets dismantled completely.

Speaking of the removal, Colonel Tran Ngoc Duong, deputy head of the Hanoi Department of Public Security, said local authorities originally established checkpoint No. 8 in Hung Yen after asking for provincial leaders’ approval.

However, Hung Yen officials have recently asked Hanoi to close the checkpoint, as the province has eased its epidemic control measures pursuant to a government decree.

Also on Friday, Dinh Tien Dung, secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, endorsed a directive requiring lower-level authorities to enable operations of transport services in order to appease residents’ demand for movement.

Those completing quarantine at local facilities must be able to travel back to their home and work locations to help with the resumption of businesses and services.

On Thursday, Hanoi continued loosening COVID-19 restrictions by restoring the operations of public offices, businesses, eateries, public transport, and others, after over two months of closure under a strict coronavirus prevention mandate.

The new rules follow the previous loosening applied since October 1, when the national government decided to shift Vietnam to ‘new normal conditions,’ a phrase used to describe its new strategy of living safely with the coronavirus.

The capital city has documented 4,585 COVID-19 cases, including 37 deaths, since the pandemic erupted in Vietnam in early 2020, according to the health ministry.

Overall, the Southeast Asian nation has registered 860,860 coronavirus patients, including 790,504 recoveries and 21,131 deaths in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities, except Cao Bang.

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