Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has agreed to change Hanoi’s classification as part of the high-risk group, deciding to downgrade the capital to place it among the medium-risk group from April 23, although some areas around Hanoi will remain in the high-risk group such as the districts of Me Linh and Thuong Tin.
PM Phuc made the decision during a cabinet meeting held on 22 April in Hanoi that took place among the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. The contents of the discussions centred around municipal leaders asking the PM to permit Hanoi to be put into the medium-risk group starting from April 23 for the purpose of gradually restarting the city's economic development goals.
According to the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, the reason for municipal leaders to make this proposal is based on the current situation relating to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Hanoi.
Despite being placed into the medium-risk group, the capital is set to continue to strictly follow epidemic prevention measures, such as suspending services related to sports, cultural exchanges, festivals, karaoke, video game lunges, and massage parlors, until April 30 and over the course of the upcoming Liberation Day and May Day national holidays which fall on April 30 May 1, respectively.
With these proposals, PM Phuc has consented to downgrade Hanoi’s classification from the high-risk group to medium-risk group starting from April 23, with some areas located in the capital poised to remain in the high-risk group, including Me Linh and Thuong Tin districts.
As a result, these districts must strictly adhere to the PM’s Directive 16 regarding social distancing, the PM stated, whilst also requesting that the Chairman of the Hanoi City People's Committee make a decision regarding the strict observance of Directive No 16 for high-risk districts.
As a result of Hanoi being downgraded, there will be no more provinces or cities placed in the high-risk group with only a few districts in the capital where there is a risk of future COVID-19 outbreaks continuing to apply the Government's Directive 16 due to being kept in the high-risk group.
At the meeting, the government chief decided that as from April 23, 28 localities of high-risk and medium-risk groups for COVID-19 infection will halt social distancing measures, except for some districts of Hanoi, Ha Giang, and Bac Ninh.
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Bac Ninh, and Ha Giang, which recently reported more new coronavirus cases, no longer belong to the high risk group and are now put in the medium-risk group.
