Photo for illustration. A residential area is put under lock down due to COVID-19 infections. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - Thụy Phương Commune in suburban Chương Mỹ District was put under lockdown on Saturday night after five COVID-19 cases were reported.

About 9,000 people live in the commune.

Nguyễn Đình Hòa, chairman of the district said that the five COVID-19 cases were members of a family including a couple, their two children and a relative.

The couple, who are greengrocers at Đại Từ Market in Hoàng Mai District’s Đại Kim Ward, used illegal travel permits to reach the market, where they were alleged to have been infected.

At least 40 people (F1) who had close contact with the confirmed cases were taken to concentrated quarantine areas while another 78 people have been quarantined at home.

Up to 9,000 people in the commune have been tested for SARS-CoV-2 since Saturday night.

Thụy Hương Commune People’s Committee has implemented measures to ensure supply of food and other essentials for people in the locked-down area.

People with underlying health conditions and pregnant women would be listed to get special attention. The commune also made plans to harvest rice for farmers if the outbreak worsened, Hòa said.

The district authorities received 195 health workers from Quảng Ninh Province and 100 health workers from Hòa Bình Province, who together with local staff would ramp up testing and COVID-19 vaccination in the commune.

A police officer checks the travel permit of a driver at a checkpoint in Hàm Tử Quan Street, Chương Dương Ward, Hà Nội's Hoàn Kiếm District. VNA/VNS Photo

Meanwhile , lockdowns were lifted in COVID-19 hit areas in Hà Nội since early Sunday.

In Chương Dương ward of Hoàn Kiếm District, the lockdown was lifted at Hamlet 105 of Vọng Hà Street and part of hamlet 107 of the same street.

The whole of Chương Dương Street with a population of nearly 23,000 people was locked down since July 30 when the first COVID-19 cases were detected there. For the last 25 days, the ward has reported no community cases.

The cluster at hamlet 24 of Kim Đồng Street in Giáp Bát Ward, Hoàng Mai District with a population of more than 1,900 people was locked down from August 25 as COVID-19 infections were detected among drivers who travelled from HCM City and their close contacts.

In two wards of Văn Chương and Văn Miếu District in Đống Đa District, authorities decided to lift lockdowns in some residential areas.

However, the lockdown was extended until September 19 in some other areas including the apartment building at 16B Ngô Tất Tố Street, houses from No 27 to No 31 Ngô Tất Tố Street, and apartment building at 20D Trần Quý Cáp Street.

Houses from No 35 to No 77 Trần Quý Cáp Street, houses from No 90 to No 126 in Hamlet 88 of Trần Quý Cáp Street will continue to be locked down until September 24.

Clusters in Văn Chương and Văn Miếu Wards with a population of more than 21,000 were put into lockdown from August 21 to September 4. However, the lockdown of the whole two wards was extended until Saturday (September 11).

With the latest adjustment of locked down areas in the two wards, just about 650 people are in locked down areas.

Until Sunday morning, Hà Nội has reported 3,762 COVID-19 cases since late April when the fourth wave of COVID-19 hit Việt Nam. Of those, 1,593 cases were found in the community while the other 2,169 cases were found in quarantine areas. VNS