Police officers at a checkpoint in Hạ Lôi village, Mê Linh District, Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Hạ Lôi Village in Mê Linh District, one of the main hotspots for COVID-19 in Hà Nội, ended its 28-day lockdown at midnight on May 6.

Mê Linh District authorities announced the decision late Tuesday night, saying the village had not seen any new cases of the disease for the past 21 days after all the villagers test negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

On April 8, Mê Linh District People’s Committee locked down the village. Under the decision, more than 2,900 households with more than 10,800 people in the village were quarantined at home.

Three out of the 13 COVID-19 patients from Hạ Lôi Village have recovered from the disease.

During the lockdown, all residents who wished to go out had to obtain written approval while others were only allowed to leave their houses for essential purposes and travel within the village. Village officials also took on the role of delivering food and groceries to residents.

Đặng Văn Cường, a resident, said the villagers had not lacked anything during the lockdown, with a stable supply from donors and Government provisions.

“Hạ Lôi has about 100ha of flower fields that have been neglected during the lockdown so economic losses are unavoidable, but people here have accepted the losses in order to control the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Tạ Quang Thái, chairman of Mê Linh Commune.

The district has completed detailed plans to get economic activities in Hạ Lôi back on track, while ensuring preventive measures are strictly followed after the lockdown ends, Chairman of the Mê Linh District People’s Committee Đoàn Văn Trọng said in a Tuesday meeting.

In the past five days, the district found six suspected COVID-19 cases in Hạ Lôi, and all of them were promptly quarantined in Bắc Thăng Long Hospital before their test results returned negative, he added.

Đoàn Văn Trọng said the district was listed as a high-risk area and would maintain strict social distancing.

After the lockdown ends, 74 monitoring groups will be checking on the health of people every day, while advising on preventive measures and quickly detecting any suspected cases. — VNS