Wearing face masks in hospitals is compulsory in Hanoi

This is part of a new Government decree drafted by the Ministry of Health that targets those who flout regulations on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Under the decree in effect as of November 2020, wearing face masks is compulsory in public places such as railway stations, bus stations, supermarkets, among others.

The Ministry of Health has sent instructions to localities across the country to decide on when and where masking is mandatory, depending on the specific situation in the localities.

The Hanoi Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control for example has specified that hospitals, parking lots, railway/bus stations, shopping centers, supermarkets and wet markets are the five public venues where wearing the mask is compulsory.

New fines of between 1-3 million VND (43 – 130 USD) are given to lawbreakers as of November 15. The previous fines were just 100,000 - 300,000 VND (equivalent to 4.2 – 13 USD).

Vietnam has so far gone through more than 70 consecutive days without detecting new locally transmitted coronavirus cases.

Only imported cases returning from overseas have sporadically been confirmed these days. They were all quarantined as soon as they landed in Vietnam, posing no risk to the community.

However, experts warned the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease may resurge this winter if prevention measures are not tightened.