Hanoi has a population of 10 million people and a very high population density. In the 150 days since the latest epidemic outbreak began, Hanoi recorded approximately 4,300 cases of COVID-19, 0.4% of Vietnam’s total.

In addition to strictly following the Prime Minister’s Directive 16 on social distancing since July 24 – zoning and locking down areas with cases of coronavirus infection – Hanoi conducted testing on a large scale and mass vaccination of people 18 or older.

Tran Xuan Huy of Gia Thuy ward in Long Bien district told VOV, “I think Hanoi responded to the epidemic in a timely fashion. Hotspots in Hanoi, like Thanh Xuan Trung and Giap Bat, were promptly controlled, making it possible for the city to resume economic activities. Hanoi residents are very happy.”

Between September 7 and September 16, 3 million vaccine doses were administered in Hanoi. Now 6 million people in the city have received their first dose and efforts to administer a second injection are moving quickly.

Tran Thi Nhi Ha, Director of Hanoi’s Health Department, said, “We’ve worked day and night to accelerate the campaign. In some areas, vaccination went on until 2 a.m. Vaccination was done in all districts, communes, and wards.”

Though the top priority has been to ensure people’s health and safety, during the social distancing months, Hanoi also paid attention to socio-economic development and maintaining people's living standard.

Since September 16, when Hanoi changed its policy from “Zero COVID” to safe, flexible adaptation to the disease, many socio-economic activities have been accelerated.

A number of economic sectors in the capital have maintained their growth rate. Finance and banking, for example, grew 8.68%; science and technology is up 5.54% from last year; and, for the most part, people's standard of living has been maintained.

Chu Ngoc Anh, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, said, “City and district administrations have made great efforts to control the epidemic and devise socio-economic solutions. Hanoi has seen encouraging results in investment attraction and disbursement, which are difficult tasks under epidemic conditions. This success will inspire us for the rest of the year.”

During the social distancing period, Hanoi allocated additional 22 million USD from its 2021 budget as loans to help people to restore and develop their production or other business. It has also adopted growth scenarios corresponding to different epidemic levels.

During the final months of the year, Hanoi will speed up its socio-economic recovery, focusing on three tasks -  disbursing at least 95% of this year’s planned amount; effective budget management, collection, and spending; and stepping up administrative reform to remove obstacles for enterprises.