Hanoi’s social distancing order under Directive 16, which began on July 24, requires people to stay home and only go out for basic necessities such as buying food or medicines or to work at factories or businesses that are allowed to open.

Despite the stringent measures over the past 2 weeks, the city has recorded dozens of local infections a day, including cases with unknown sources of transmission. Health experts said the capital city needs between 7 to 15 more days of social distancing to detect and isolate all community cases. 

Since the latest wave of COVID-19 hit Vietnam in late April, Hanoi has recorded more than 1,500 new infections.