A firework display in Hà Nội on New Year's Eve. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, Hà Nội will not hold any outdoor activities for New Year’s eve, including countdown events and firework displays, according to the municipal Department of Culture and Sports.

The capital city will instead hold virtual events and pre-record cultural performance programmes to welcome 2022, which will be broadcast on New Year's Eve.

The city also encourages businesses and organisations to put up decorations and lightings on the front of buildings, hotels and malls.

The downtown district of Hoàn Kiếm, where major cultural events usually take place and is a place for many people's gatherings also announced that celebration events in the area were to be halted while in-door dining is suspended.

Hà Nội has been recording the highest number of new infections nationwide for the past two weeks, reporting over 1,000 new cases on a daily basis.

According to Deputy Secretary of Hà Nội Party Committee Nguyễn Văn Phong, the situation is predicted to remain complicated over the upcoming New Year and Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays, especially given the fact that Việt Nam recorded its very first Omicron infection, from an imported COVID-19 patient returning from the UK.

He added that the risks would go up due to the increasing demand for transport, and the 140,000 Vietnamese nationals wanting to return to the country for the holidays.

Chairman of Hà Nội People’s Committee Chu Ngọc Anh also signed a new directive on the Lunar New Year’s activities, which requires localities to hold celebrations in accordance with COVID-19 prevention and control measures. — VNS