Directive 20/CT-UBND Hanoi intensifying measures to prevent COVID-19

DIRECTIVE

On intensifying the implementation of measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic in the city

After 3 times of applying social distancing across the city, the city's pandemic prevention and control continued to put the pandemic under control, which is recognized and appreciated by the Party’s and State’s leaders while the people have gone along with the anti-pandemic solutions of the Central Government and the city’s authorities. However, over the past time, in some highly populated localities and areas where there are many lanes, small alleys, old apartment buildings, and traditional markets, as well as some locked-down areas still showed signs of subjectivity, did not pay due attention to implementing their tasks, not determinedly and strictly implemented social distancing, letting cases of “Strictly control the outside, loosely control the inside”; new infected cases still arise in the community, locked-down areas, at residential markets, supermarkets with unknown sources of infection; some individuals used vehicles transporting essential goods which were recognized as green (safe) and ambulances to illegally transport people from pandemic-hit areas to the city. In order to ensure both the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic and the socio-economic development in the coming time, the Chairman of the Municipal People's Committee hereby asks the Departments, agencies, sectors and People's Committees of districts and towns as well as all agencies, units, associations, organizations and citizens based in the city to strictly implement the following measures:

1. To follow the directions of the Prime Minister mentioned in Official Dispatches No. 1022/CD-TTg dated August 23, 2021 and No. 1108/CD-TTg dated August 31, 2021, Notice No. 230/TB-VPCP dated September 1, 2021 at the online meeting with authorities of communes and wards in Hanoi on COVID-19 prevention and control; the directions of the Standing Board of Hanoi Party Committee mentioned in Directive No. 06-CT/TU dated September 1, 2021 and Notice No. 480-TB/TU dated September 1, 2021 on continuing to improve the effectiveness of prevention and fight against the COVID-19 pandemic so as to prevent, repel and control the pandemic in complicated and high-risk places with the motto that prevention is the basic, strategic and long-term solution; protecting the safety of the capital, firmly maintaining the “green areas”, absolutely preventing the pandemic from spreading to the countryside, protecting the health and lives of the people are the first and foremost tasks.

The entire political system and authorities at all levels shall consider that the anti-pandemic tasks are the most urgent; thoroughly and effectively implement them on the people-centered principle; mobilize, guide and suggest the people to participate in the fight against the pandemic at checkpoints in residential areas; consider communes and wards as “fortresses” and local people as “combatants” to protect the health of themselves, their families and the community, and determine that “the victory over the pandemic is the victory of the people”.

2. From 6:00 on September 6, 2021 to 6:00 on September 21, 2021, the city shall implement pandemic prevention and control measures in 03 separate zones as follows:

a) Zone 1: The central urban areas with the high population density, where many agencies, enterprises, and service establishments are located, shall be defined as the red zone where high-risk areas and people are concentrated in.

- Scope: The entire administrative boundaries of 10 districts: Tay Ho, Ba Dinh, Cau Giay, Hoan Kiem, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung, Thanh Xuan, Ha Dong, Hoang Mai, Thanh Tri, and a part of administrative boundaries of 5 districts: Nam Tu Liem, Bac Tu Liem, Hoai Duc, Thanh Oai, Thuong Tin, which are surrounded by Nhue River, Cau Nga Canal, Day River, Khe Tang Canal, To Lich River, Hong Van Canal and Red River.

- Measures applied in pandemic prevention and control: Continue to apply social distancing under Directive No. 16/CT- TTg dated March 31, 2020 of the Prime Minister and apply a number of more stringent measures.

b) Zone 2 (The North and East of Red River): It is separated from Zone 1 by the Red River and Duong River systems. The risk of pandemic contagion in the North and Northeast shall be prevented. The zone also covers the Northern Industrial Triangle, which is highly “independent”.

- Scope: The entire administrative boundaries of 05 districts: Long Bien, Gia Lam, Dong Anh, Soc Son, Me Linh.

- Measures to be applied in pandemic prevention and control: Implement measures under Directive No. 15/CT- TTg dated March 27, 2020 of the Prime Minister and apply a number of more stringent measures to promote and maintain safe production according to the approved plans.

c) Zone 3 (The West and South of the city): Agricultural production areas and industrial zones and clusters, with typical agricultural density and production activities, which are partly urbanized and sparsely populated.

- Scope: The entire administrative boundaries of 10 districts and town: Ba Vi, Son Tay, Phuc Tho, Dan Phuong, Thach That, Quoc Oai, Chuong My, Ung Hoa, My Duc, Phu Xuyen, and a part of 05 districts: Nam Tu Liem, Bac Tu Liem, Hoai Duc, Thanh Oai, Thuong Tin, which are separated from others mainly by the Nhue River and Day River.

- Measures applied in pandemic prevention and control: Implement measures under Directive No. 15/CT- TTg dated March 27, 2020 of the Prime Minister and apply a number of more stringent measures on the principle that each commune, ward, residential area, and production area is an anti-pandemic fortress, applying 5K rules in combination with isolating residential areas when the pandemic breaks out.

3. Principles of implementation

- Synchronously applying pandemic prevention and control measures in the zones, strictly controlling people and social activities, minimizing the spread of the disease among the zones.

- Zoning is for pandemic prevention and control, not for administrative management.

- Decentralizing and authorizing districts and town in Zone 2 and Zone 3 to decide on pandemic prevention and control measures as well as organize production activities depending on the specific pandemic situation in each area.

- Strengthening social distancing with stronger measures in Zone 1 (inner city) to strictly control the risk of infection in the community, zoning and thoroughly handling outbreaks, preventing the disease from spreading form such areas to others, gradually making all areas “green”; Strengthening social distancing alongside isolating people and households from one another, requesting people to “stay where they are”, avoiding “Strictly control the outside, loosely control the inside”.

Strictly managing the activities of people, organizations, agencies and units located in the city; providing specific instructions and issuing travel permits for subjects and vehicles permitted to travel within the city (including political activities, diplomacy, public affairs, essential public services, pandemic prevention and control; medical examination and treatment, testing and vaccination of the people, etc.). Organizing and strictly managing, seriously implementing the social distancing regulations under Directive No. 16/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister at all entrance and exit checkpoints in the city and Zone 1, and for individuals and vehicles traveling within the city on the principle that only permitted individuals and vehicles can “go out”, “people stay where they are”, “residents of one zone stay in such zone”. Violations must be strictly handled.

- Continuing to strictly follow the motto that disease prevention is the basic, strategic and long-term solution; firmly protecting the “green zones”; definitely preventing the disease from spreading to industrial areas and agricultural production areas.

- Actively mobilizing resources for pandemic prevention and control under the “4 on-spot” motto, drawing out scenarios for higher-level pandemic, being ready for all pandemic situations in communes, wards and townships.

- Building communes, wards and townships in the city to be “fortresses” for pandemic prevention and control in accordance with the direction of the Prime Minister mentioned in Official Dispatch No. 1102/CD- TTg dated August 23, 2021.

- Mobilizing all resources to deploy a large-scale testing plan, ensuring the appropriate and accurate testing for at-risk areas and groups, and ensuring that the functional units carry out the sampling and testing in a consistent, flexible, and cooperative manner in order to avoid storing samples in more than 24 hours.

- Ensuring the supply of essential food and foodstuffs for people in zones under lockdown and intensive social distancing, especially quarantined and blocked areas; promoting the role of the grassroots-level political system as they are the closest to the people and understand the people the most, especially the police forces of wards and communes, the regional police, and the community-based COVID-19 teams.

- Organizing vaccination in an expeditious, safe and lawful manner for priority groups in accordance with the regulations and directions of the Central Government and the city’s authorities, then updating vaccination data into the national vaccination software system.

- Maintaining security and social order for local people.

- Strengthening information and dissemination of the situation and measures to prevent and control the pandemic in a synchronous and timely manner so that local people can know, understand, trust in, respond to, support and join efforts with the authorities; making people actually feel secure and voluntarily implement pandemic prevention and control measures.

- Well organizing the community-based COVID-19 prevention and control groups.

- Strengthening the inspection and supervision of the implementation of pandemic prevention and control in communes, wards and townships; conducting inspection alongside guiding and supporting the communes and wards to promptly rectify and correct the limitations and shortcomings.

4. Based on the contents of this Directive, the zoning plan for COVID-19 disease prevention and control issued by the People's Committee of the city, and the functions and assigned tasks related to the branches, fields and geographical areas under their management, Directors, Heads of Departments, agencies and sectors of the city and Chairpersons of People's Committees of districts and towns shall proactively work out plans to organize the implementation in their respective zone and inter-zone, disseminate information and provide timely guidance to relevant organizations, individuals, agencies and units. The deadline for completing the plans and reporting them to the People's Committee of the city is before September 5, 2021.

4.1. The Hanoi Department of Health shall:

- Continue to organize rapid testing, shorten the testing cycle under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and conduct large-scale testing according to the city-wide plan in an appropriate, accurate and effective manner, and prioritize resources for testing high-risk subjects, blocked and quarantined areas to promptly trace F1 cases as well as immediately isolate and prevent the spread of the disease; gradually turning “red areas” to “orange areas”, “orange areas” to “green areas”, bringing the city to a new normal.

- Direct the treatment of COVID-19 patients in appropriate storeys, in which effectively treating patients in the 1^st storey while minimizing the treatment at the 2^nd and 3^rd storeys; at the same time, ensuring the timely and effective receipt and treatment of other diseases; protect the absolute safety against the pandemic at medical facilities in the city.

- Coordinate with the Department of Construction and related units to review and ensure the capacity of 20,000 patient beds and be ready to increase to 30,000 patient beds for the medical facilities to receive, treat and care of infected people in accordance with the three- storey treatment of the Ministry of Health; ensure adequate oxygen, equipment, supplies, medicines and medical workers for the medical facilities at each treatment storey.

- Continue to invest, strengthen and improve the capacity of the grassroots-level medical facilities, with the focus on health stations in communes, wards and townships, so that people can access the fastest and earliest medical services right at the grassroots-level medical facilities, thus minimizing severe complications and fatalities.

4.2. The Hanoi Municipal Police Department shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related units in, strict managing activities of people, organizations, agencies and units located in the city; providing specific instructions and using IT applications to issue travel permits, creating favorable conditions for the permit individuals, organizations, units and vehicles allowed to travel within the city (including political activities, diplomacy, public service, essential public services for pandemic prevention and control; medical examination, treatment, testing, and vaccination of the people etc.), which must be completed on September 5, 2021.

- Strictly manage and implement social distancing regulations under Directive 16 of the Prime Minister at all entrance and exit checkpoints of the city, which are adjacent to other provinces and cities, and the checkpoints in Zone 1; install the system of round-the-clock surveillance cameras and transmit signals, information and images to the city’s Command Center, ensure the supervision and management on the principle on the principle that only permitted individuals and vehicles can “go out”, “people stay where they are”, “residents of one zone stay in such zone”, maintain security and social order, avoiding traffic congestion and crowded gatherings at the checkpoints; proactively work out and early implement detailed plans while popularizing related information and instructions to organizations, agencies, units and local people. Violations must be strictly handled.

- Direct the grassroots-level police to uphold the role and responsibility of the community-based COVID-19 teams, closely monitoring the travelling of local people; developing plans to ensure security and social order and prevent crimes in the city.

- Avoid being unprepared or stunned in all situations based on high-level pandemic prevention and control plans of the city; organize rehearsals of anti-pandemic plans and encourage people to feel secure, comply with regulations and support the authorities; implement pandemic prevention and control measures in detention centers and camps run by the police.

4.3. The Capital Command shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Departments of Construction, Health, and Finance and the People's Committees of districts and towns in establishing and providing equipment for concentrated quarantine zones of the city, ensuring the quarantine capacity of 100,000 F1 cases; sufficiently preparing beds, mats, blankets and other items based on each specific plan to ensure the capacity of 20,000 to 30,000 patient beds for treatment of infected people at medical facilities.

- Coordinate with the Hanoi Municipal Police Department in ensuring security and social order and preventing crimes in the city, avoid being unprepared or stunned in all situations based on high-level pandemic prevention and control plans of the city; organize rehearsals of anti-pandemic plans and encourage people to feel secure, comply with regulations and support the authorities.

- Coordinate with the Municipal Police Department, the Department of Transport, the Department of Health in controlling traffic at the checkpoints in the zones across the city.

4.4. The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for guiding and ensuring the supply of food, foodstuffs, necessities and essential goods for all people among the zones, especially in locked-down and quarantined areas, in order to serve needs of the people.

- Coordinate with local authorities to guide and manage production and business activities of enterprises in order to ensure safety in line with pandemic prevention and control regulations and specific conditions of each region and each locality.

4.5. The Hanoi Department of Transport shall:

- Reorganize transport activities to meet requirements of this Directive.

- Coordinate with the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Health, the Hanoi Management Board of Industrial Parks and Export Processing Zones, and the Hanoi Municipal Police Department to develop a plan to arrange “green flows” and ensure smooth traffic for vehicles transporting essential goods, workers, and experts.

- Coordinate with the Hanoi Municipal Police Department to control travelling at the quarantine checkpoints.

4.6. The Hanoi Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall:

Ensure social security for policy beneficiaries, poor citizens, unemployed workers without unemployment insurance in accordance with the regulations of the Central Government and the city’s authorities; exert all-out efforts to realize the motto “Everyone in the city facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be supported”.

4.7. The Hanoi Department of Finance shall:

Advise and propose its upper levels to ensure funds for the COVID-19 prevention and control upon request.

4.8. The Hanoi Department of Information and Communication shall:

Coordinate with the Commission for Education and Information under the Party Committee of the city in directing and guiding the press agencies to continue promoting dissemination of information on the COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control; popularize and encourage the people to support the policy of protecting people's health; strictly sanction cases of posting false news and headlines causing public anxiety and affecting the pandemic prevention of the city.

4.9. The Hanoi Department of Construction shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate with the Hanoi Municipal Police Department and the Department of Transport in setting up barriers to limit people and vehicles travelling from Zones 2 and 3 to Zone 1 and vice versa.

- Guide construction works to ensure safety in line with pandemic prevention and control regulations and specific conditions in each zone and area.

- Direct clean water companies, environmental sanitation units, water supply and drainage facilities to ensure and fully meet the demands of people in the city.

4.10. The People's Committees of districts and towns shall:

- Secretaries of Party Committees and chairpersons of People's Committees of districts and towns, based on the pandemic situation in their respective localities, shall be allowed to decide to apply pandemic prevention and control measures at a higher level and shall take the accountability of the Party committee and government heads to the city’s leaders. At the same time, pay due attention to popularizing, mobilizing and creating consensus of the people; explaining, persuading, guiding, asking families to sign commitments on not leaving home when it is not really necessary and “staying where they are.”

- Review and identify: Subdivisions (high-risk areas, very high-risk areas); areas for essential goods supply and mobile cargo gathering; locations of anti-pandemic checkpoints and barriers (to halt travelling) of each locality for commanding and controlling purposes.

- Direct the People's Committees of wards, communes and townships to coordinate with health centers, businesses, and organizations in making lists of citizens and employees being considered as high-risk groups and living in high-risk areas in their localities, drawing maps and making detailed statistics about each person and household to continuously monitor, ensure safety, and prepare treatment plans if there are cases of infection in such areas. The treatment plans should ensure: medical quarantine, security assurance, medical response. Based on that, heads of the localities shall proactively reorganize activities to be appropriate with these options, including activities of the community-based COVID-19 teams, traffic monitoring checkpoints, markets and supermarkets, etc. so as to ensure safe production activities... Tighten pandemic prevention and control at wholesale markets, traditional markets, commercial centers, supermarkets, convenience stores and crowded events, such as testing, vaccination, volunteer activities, etc. in the localities.

When new cases of infection are recorded in their localities, the functional units shall quickly carry out epidemiological activities within 12 hours, evaluate and propose a plan to the Command Centers of the districts and town, and the city’s in order to quickly control the pandemic. Based on the pandemic developments in the localities, the chairpersons of the People's Committees of the districts and town shall actively assess the situations and may decide to apply higher-level measures in line with the reality of each locality in order to promptly prevent and isolate the sources of infection in the shortest time; at the same time, ensure the timely supply of essential necessities and the medical examination and treatment needs of the people.

Provide phone books and hotlines for people to contact when they are in urgent need of assistance regarding necessities, medical care and other emergencies.

- The Command Centers at all levels shall arrange staff to be on duty around the clock to receive and promptly settle complaints and recommendations of organizations, units and individuals as well as difficulties in the course of implementing pandemic prevention and control measures and this Directive. Strictly comply with the policy reporting to the upper-level Command Centers as prescribed.

For narrow and densely populated locked-down areas, based on the reality, the Steering Committee for Pandemic Prevention and Control of the city shall direct the local authorities to review and work out plans and scenarios to ensure safety, install cameras, tighten control, and increase testing; in case of necessity, it is possible to transport high-risk subjects to concentrated quarantine zones in order to reduce the population density and prevent pandemic contagion in locked-down areas.

5. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the city is requested to continue promoting the movement of all people joining hands to take care of social security. Mobilize all levels, sectors, organizations and individuals to donate to the COVID-19 prevention fund, create resources to take care of social security, continue to pay attention to self-employed workers and out-of-town students who have difficulties, and laborers who do not sign labor contracts or have not been supported under the policies of the Central Government and the city’s authorities.

6. The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and socio-political organizations of the city, the Directors and heads of the Departments, agencies, sectors, mass organizations and offices of the city; Chairpersons of People's Committees of districts and towns; communes, wards and townships as well as concerned organizations, units and individuals shall continue to strictly implement the contents of the guiding documents issued by the Central Government and the city’s authorities, and the contents of this Directive.

During the course of implementation, if there are difficulties and problems arising, the units and localities should actively coordinate and handle under their competence in a timely and effective manner to avoid causing problems for the people and organizations; promptly report to competent authorities for consideration and directions on dealing with the contents beyond their competence.

Ministries, departments, branches, Central-level agencies, embassies, diplomatic agencies, international organizations located in the city and the People's Committees of relevant provinces and cities are requested to coordinate in implementing the anti-pandemic measures under this Directive./.