Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The PM made the order at a governmental meeting on COVID-19 prevention and control in Hanoi on March 26.

He also required a ban of gatherings of more than 10 people outside of offices, schools and hospitals.

The Government leader urged people to stay indoors and only go out for essentials, and recommended switching to working online to help stop the spread of the disease.

Phuc said as the transmission of the coronavirus is happening more rapidly in Vietnam, with more cases of community and hospital infections, administrations of all levels must take stronger measures and act faster to early detect infections, timely put suspected cases in quarantine and protect the health of the others.

“The virus would spread faster than our actions if we do not act quick and drastically enough,” the PM said.

He demanded a full suspension of all public religious services and closures of non-essential services, such as bars, karaoke clubs, massage parlours, cinemas, restaurants, beer clubs, entertainment centres and tourist spots, except for those selling food and essential goods.

Operation of public transports must be halted or re-organised while flights connecting two major cities – Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City – and other localities should be reduced, the leader said.

Those orders will be effective from 0:00am on March 28 with no end date specified.

Also at the meeting, the National Steering Committee of COVID-19 Prevention and Control reported that a total of 46,933 people are currently under quarantine, including 412 people quarantined in hospitals, 20,386 in state-designated areas and 26,135 in self-quarantine at home.

The Ministry of Public Security reported that it has traced all 44,636 Vietnamese people and 36,911 foreigners entering Vietnam from March 7 – 24 and asked them to go into quarantine either at home or in designated facilities and fill in health declarations.
PM Phuc is scheduled to chair a meeting on March 31 to discuss measures to address difficulties faced by the economy./.VNA