Mê Linh District’s Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control imposed a lockdown on Hạ Lôi Village, Hà Nội’s Mê Linh Commune on Tuesday afternoon.—VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Hùng

HÀ NỘI — Mê Linh District’s Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control imposed a lockdown on Hạ Lôi Village in Hà Nội’s Mê Linh Commune on Tuesday afternoon.

The decision was made following news that the country's 243rd COVID-19 patient, confirmed on Monday, lives and had attended a wedding ceremony in the village during his incubation period.

The People’s Committee of the district will provide free food for all 2.973 households in the village during the lockdown, which run from April 8 to May 5.

During that time, villagers have been told to stay at home, and only one family member is allowed out to collect food each day.

The 243rd patient is a 47-year-old man, from Mê Linh Commune, Mê Linh District in Hà Nội. He took his wife to Bạch Mai Hospital for a health examination on March 12 and returned home the same day. The couple had lunch at a restaurant opposite the hospital and did not return to the hospital.

Last Friday, he took his wife to the Hà Nội Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital for examination without declaring that he and his wife had visited Bạch Mai Hospital on March 12 as per the requirements of the Ministry of Health.

It resulted in 63 doctors and nurses from the Hà Nội Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital being put in quarantine at the hospital on Monday.

On Wednesday morning, a neighbour of the patient 243 in Hạ Lôi Village was confirmed as the 250th patient after having tested positive for the disease. — VNS