Hanoi (VNA)൲ - Two ofthe country’s biggest cities, Hanoi and HCM City, on March 27 issued a numberof recommendations on social distancing for its citizens to follow amid growingconcerns over the COVID-19 pandemic, effective March 28 until at least April15.

All meetings or congregationswith attendance of over 20 people in a room will be halted, and no gatheringsof more than 10 people outside the workplace or schools will be allowed. Forthose meetings with fewer participants than these limits, measures such assterilisation, face masks and temperature checks must be implemented. Face masks will be mandatoryand maintaining a distance of two metres between people is recommended in allpublic places. Frequent hand washing is alsorecommended. The two cities’ authoritieshave also urged for a “complete halt” to all religious gatherings, cultural orsports and other entertainment activities in public places. Citizens are told to stayinside and refrain from going outside unless truly necessary. Hanoi will stop all busoperations until April 15. Taxies will be ordered to lower the windowpanes,while both drivers and passengers must wear face masks at all times, and thevehicles must be sterilised after each trip. Hanoi will order the closingof all businesses, except for these cases: supermarkets (but not ones thatprovide entertainment or ones that provide on-site meals), malls, traditionalmarkets (only food, vegetable and fruit stalls), convenience stores, grocerystores, flower and fruit shops, agricultural produce chain stores, pharmacies;health care services centres; banking services, and gas and petrol stations. Citizens are also urged toconduct their shopping online with delivery at home services. The same will also apply inHCM City. Schools and vocationaltraining centres in Hanoi are told to stop until further notice. HCM City will issue fivemillion pamphlets that list 12 dos and don’ts to all households to “mobilisethe whole city” to join in efforts in containing the outbreak within the next twoweeks, considered to be the critical golden window that determines the scope ofthe outbreak in Vietnam. The southern city even toldits citizens to not have contact or do business with those not wearing facemasks. Starting March 28, HCM Citywill issue fines for anyone who fails to wear masks in public or maintain thetwo-metre distancing. High-rise buildings andapartment buildings that are using air conditioners are told to switch to fanand ventilator systems and open the windows as much as possible. Ifair-conditioning is necessary, the temperature should be set at a minimum of 27degrees Celsius. Companies and businesses withoffices in high-rise buildings are advised to organise remote working for itsworkers.

Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan recently asked relevant agencies to further strengthen COVID-19 prevention and control measures so that the number of cases in the city is contained within 300.

He said the country is trying to prevent the number of COVID-19 cases from rising to 1,000, and so the city should not allow it to exceed 300. Experiences from COVID-19-hit countries have shown that 100 increased to 1,000 within 10 days and to 2,000 within three days.

So the next 10-14 days would be important and decisive for the city and the country, and it is a big challenge requiring the public, and relevant organisations and agencies to join the prevention effort, he said.

ও If there are 2,000 new cases a day, hospitals with thousands of beds would not be enough and there are not enough quarantine areas either, he warned. /.