People walk around Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hà Nội's Hoàn Kiếm District on June 26 after municipal authorities allowed the resumption of outdoor physical exercises. —VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội People’s Committee on Thursday announced the suspension of outdoor physical exercise and sports from 6pm the same day due to the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Municipal authorities called on people to go out only when necessary and strictly implement disease prevention and control measures.

Fixed and mobile COVID-19 checkpoints would be resumed at industrial parks, industrial clusters, apartment buildings, healthcare facilities, schools, markets, malls, parks and other public places.

Airports, railway stations and the city’s Transport Department have asked passengers who arrive in Hà Nội from other localities to strictly follow the health ministry’s pandemic prevention guidelines, submit online health declarations and monitor their health.

Arrivals must report to local authorities or the nearest healthcare centre if they experience symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, breathing difficulty or loss of their sense of taste.

The city’s authorities also decided to halt road transportation by public means between Hà Nội and 14 provinces and cities from Thursday. The 14 localities are HCM City, Bình Dương, Đồng Nai, Khánh Hòa, Phú Yên, Đắk Lắk, Quảng Ngãi, Quảng Nam, Đà Nẵng, Thừa Thiên - Huế, Hà Tĩnh, Nghệ An, Thanh Hóa and Hà Nam.

Only contract vehicles that are used to carry experts, officials or workers of agencies or companies in industrial and processing zones can travel on the routes.

The transportation restrictions would be lifted if the city does not report any new COVID-19 community cases for 14 straight days or when the city’s authorities release a new notice.

On June 25, Hà Nội loosened some disease prevention and control measures after seeing COVID-19 had been controlled effectively in the city. 

From June 26, people in Hà Nội were allowed to do outdoor physical exercises as long as they did not gather in a group of more than 20. Golf courses were also reopened since then.

Non-essential businesses like hairdressing salons, indoor restaurants were closed from late April to June 22.

Once reopened, service providers must ensure a safe distance, close before 9pm and host less than 20 people at any one time. Alcoholic drinks and beer can still only be served as takeaway. Bars, karaoke parlours, gaming stores and gyms are still not allowed to open.

During the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in late April, Hà Nội has reported 484 community infections with 16 seen in the last three days. — VNS