Forty locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported on Tuesday including 38 in Hải Dương, one in Quảng Ninh and one in Hà Nội.

Forty new community infections reported this evening, 38 in Hải Dương, one in Hà Nội and one in Quảng Ninh.

HCM City authorities are testing arrivals from three major airports in the north (Nội Bài in Hà Nội, Vân Đồn in Quảng Ninh Province and Cát Bi in the northern port city of Hải Phòng) as tens of thousands of passengers are returning after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Hà Nội has ordered the closure of streetside stalls, monuments, temples and pagodas from Tuesday to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

By Tuesday morning (February 16), 21 provinces and cities across Việt Nam have decided to halt resumption of in-person learning due on Wednesday after Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday over community COVID-19 outbreaks.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has ordered the health sector to conduct all necessary measures to make COVID-19 vaccines available in Việt Nam this month, while Hà Nội will close all streetside stalls, religious and relic sites from midnight.