Traffic police directing vehicles at Pháp Vân-Cầu Giẽ toll station this morning. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - The capital city’s functional forces are deploying a number of  solutions to prevent congestion at gateways to the capital, Trần Hưng Hà, Director of the No.1 Road Administration Department has said.

On the first day under stricter social distancing measures required under Directive 16, congestion had been reported at a number of checkpoints leading into and out of the city, notably the Pháp Vân-Cầu Giẽ Highway.

Hà said that because the city implemented the stricter social distancing requirements from the early hours of the morning, many vehicles that were not allowed to enter the city were forced to turn around at the checkpoints creating congestion.

On social media, a number of drivers complained about the snap decision saying that they did not have enough notice to rearrange their plans.

Hà did however note that by early afternoon the capital city’s checkpoints had mostly cleared.

To relieve congestion at hot spots like the Pháp Vân-Cầu Giẽ toll station, a representative of the Department of Transport said a new checkpoint would be set up in the area bordering Hà Nam Province.

Vehicles that are not eligible to enter the city will also be allowed to turn around immediately, according to the official.

The transport department will set up more checkpoints from the bridgeheads to Vĩnh Tuy, Thăng Long, as well as eight more checkpoints in the city area.

Only priority vehicles carrying essential goods are allowed through COVID-19 quarantine checkpoints. These are identifiable by QR codes.

Hà said the No.1 Road Administration Department had proposed to the Hà Nội Department of Transport that they organise separate lanes for priority vehicles. He said that the Hà Nội Department of Transport and the transport departments in the northern provinces needed to grant QR identification codes soon so that vehicles that needed to enter the city could gain access.

People travelling in personal vehicles that wish to enter Hà Nội, need to prepare their citizen identification, a negative test for COVID-19 issued within 72 hours, a certificate of vaccination, documentation confirming the expiration of their quarantine period (if applicable), and to fill out a medical declaration form on the Hà Nội Police Portal. VNS