Hanoi eligible to declare end of Covid-19 epidemic

Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital city, is now eligible to declare itself free of the new coronavirus as it has recorded no new patients for 31 days, Kinhtedothi.vn reported, citing Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Ngo Van Quy at a recent online government meeting.

Quy said that whether there is a decision to declare the end of the epidemic or not, Hanoi has always focused on the "double goal" of strictly applying anti-pandemic measures and ensuring socio-economic development.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Ngo Van Quy speaks at the online meeting. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn

According to the Law on Prevention of Infectious Diseases, the following conditions must be met to declare the end of an epidemic: no new case being detected after a certain period of time, meeting different conditions for each epidemic as prescribed by the Prime Minister, and taking anti-epidemic measures in line with regulations.

It’s been 31 days that Hanoi has not detected any new infection of Covid-19. Out of 112 patients, 101 have been cured and discharged from hospital, 13 others are still treated and in good condition, 128 people are under medical observation in the community.

The city’s last Covid-19 outbreak in Thuong Tin district was extinguished on May 14.

Hanoi has earned public praise for properly deploying preventative measures against the disease and curbing transmission in the community. However, in the time ahead, overseas Vietnamese will keep returning home via Noii Bai International Airport and else where. Even though they must undergo quarantine, there is still risk of contagion in isolation centers and in the community.

Hanoi has taken measures to prevent the pandemic from spreading, such as close surveillance at Noi Bai International Airport, preparing quarantine centers for foreign arrivals, conducting testing with a view to avoiding the risk of infection import.