The considerations are on the table as the city is ramping up vaccination and mass testing to ensure all adults are inoculated with at least one dose and that there are no undetected cases in the community by mid-September.
According to the municipal health department, as of September 13 the city has collected 2.8 million samples for testing and administered 4.8 million shots. Hanoi administered 573,000 doses on September 12 alone.
Speaking at a conference on September 13, Hanoi’s Vice Chairman Ha Minh Hai noted that the city’s virus prevention is going in the right direction, ensuring both social security and production activities.
He asked district authorities to prepare specific re-opening plans for after September 15 and 21, emphasising that lockdowns must be minimised so as to not affect the lives of nearby residents.
Hai also requested the health department to work with districts to review the database and distribute vaccine appropriately so as to fulfil the vaccination and testing as scheduled.
Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vice Chairman Le Hoa Binh assured in a livestreamed event on September 13 that the city is confident in its ability to control the virus in the coming time.
He told the city residents that restrictions will be relaxed in the green zones of District 7, District 2 and Cu Chi District after September 16, before outlining the next steps when safety is guaranteed.
Binh also announced that delivery workers will be allowed to travel between districts as long as they comply with epidemic prevention rules and that the city will support the testing costs so as to ease the burden on goods transport.
He added that city is formulating safety criteria for businesses to re-open in the coming time and that it will work with banks to discuss policies to support enterprises such as lowering interest rates and extending debt repayment deadlines.
In the neighbouring province of Binh Duong, authorities are also making plans for a return to normal following improvement of the COVID-19 situation. According to the provincial authorities, the number of cases remains high but the death ratio is relatively low, at 0.8%, thanks to its effective treatment.
