Experts: Hanoi should deliberate ending social distancing order

Hanoi should not rush any decision regarding when to end social distancing measures as scheduled due to a number of F0 cases still being among the community, according to several medical experts.

A COVID-19 checkpoint in Hoan Kiem district

Despite enforcing social distancing measures, Hanoi capital is going ahead with the second large-scale testing for residents in locked down and high-risk areas as from August 18.

According to a report detailed by the Hanoi Department of Health, the number of local COVID-19 infections in the city has shown positive signs of reduction, with new cases being detected primarily in isolation facilities or areas currently under lockdown.

However, the second large-scale testing serves as the basis for the Government to make a decision to end the social distancing order, slated for August 23.

Regarding the possibility of ending the order as planned , Assoc. Prof., Dr. Tran Dac Phu, former Director of the Ministry of Health's Preventive Medicine Department, noted that the capital should not make a hasty decision, while it is essential to carefully evaluate each factor, especially the results of the F0 tracing work and mass COVID-19 testing campaign this week.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri added that Hanoi should monitor the progress of the pandemic within the community for another two to three days before coming to a final conclusion on the matter.

"If the results of mass testing show that the rate of F0s in the community is low, the city can temporarily end the social distancing order. On the contrary, if the rate of newly-injected cases increases, Hanoi should still extend social distancing,” he stressed.

The capital has finalized its first week of a mass testing campaign for high-risk people and people living in high-risk areas, with 300,000 samples being taken. An additional 800,000 samples are due to be collected ahead in the next stage, which started on August 18.

Hanoi has documented a total of 2,389 infections since the fourth wave of COVID-19 erupted on April 27. Of these, 1,238 cases were detected in the community whilst 1,151 others were found in quarantine sites or locked-down areas.