Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a range ofstringent social distancing measures, including restricting people from leavingtheir homes and banning gatherings of more than two people in public.

The order will apply nationwide for 15 days, starting April 1 in order to limitthe spread of COVID-19 that has showed no signs of abating.

“The principle is that each family isolates itself from other families, onevillage from other villages, one commune from other communes, one province fromother provinces," the directive said.

Only factories, businesses and service establishments producing and providingessential goods and services are allowed to open and asked to ensure workersfollow strict health guidelines. This includes ensuring they wear face masks,keep a safe distance from each other and make sure areas are properlydisinfected and sterilised.

All people are ordered to stay at home and only go out in case of emergencies,buying food or medicine, or going to work at factories and essential servicesthat are not closed down or halt operations. If leaving the house, people areto keep a minimum distance of two metres from others. Any gathering of morethan two people in public outside of offices, schools and hospitals isprohibited.

The Prime Minister requested all citizens to obey and strictly followpreventative measures, declare their health status, protect their own familiesand cooperate with authorities to fight COVID-19.

The Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Public Security (MPS), and people’scommittees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are urged to pull out all the stops tocontain outbreaks at Bach Mai Hospital and Buddha Bar, respectively, includingtracking high-risk cases and those in contact with patients.

The Government called on all people who entered the two areas mentioned aboveto declare their health condition and contact medical facilities for tests. TheMPS will collaborate with the healthcare sector to make a list of peopleclosely connected to Truong Sinh Company which caters Bach Mai Hospital’scanteen and quarantine any as necessary. The company has 22 workers infectedwith SARS-CoV-2.

Provincial people’s committees are asked to work closely with ministries andauthorities of Hanoi and HCM City to perform these tasks, including imposinghome quarantine, health declaration and tests to classify anyone forcentralised isolation if necessary. This includes anyone who visited Bach MaiHospital from March 12.

The Ministry of Public Security and provincial people’s committees were urgedto inspect and update health conditions of people entering Vietnam from March 8who have not been quarantined, list people in contact with them to conductsuitable isolation measures.

State agencies are encouraged to let employees work from home, except fornecessary shifts, military duties, the production of essential goods orclassified jobs that require working at the office.

Public transportation will also be suspended./.