On August 8, Hanoi began the second social distancing campaign, expected to last until August 23, with an aim to find all F0 cases in the community, stamp out the outbreak and re-establish a new normal life.

Hanoi Party Committee’s Vice Secretary Nguyen Van Phong said the city is experiencing the second social campaign with more drastic measures, stressing that the change in public awareness plays an important role in fighting the pandemic.

The statistics released after the first social distancing campaign showed "bad things". While the pandemic has seriously affected economic development and affected people’s livelihoods, people were still fined heavily for committing violations, about VND1 billion a day.

From 11 am on August 5 to 11 am on August 6, appropriate agencies of the city discovered 1,037 violations of rules on pandemic prevention and control, and imposed total fines of VND1.4 billion.

While the majority of people strictly observe the regulations on social distancing, some people still defied the rules and were fined for not wearing protective masks, wearing masks incorrectly, or going out without legitimate reasons.

Entering the second social distancing period, Hanoians are more determined to stamp out the pandemic. Those who are negligent and cause everyone to suffer will not be tolerated by society.

A lawyer commented that as people have lost their livelihood in the pandemic, they should not lose more money because of silly mistakes like not wearing protective masks and other violations.

Lawyer Pham Hong Kien from the Hanoi Bar Association said that Article 12 of Decree 117/2020 stipulates that those who go out without legitimate reasons will be fined VND1-3 million for "not taking personal protection measures for those participating in the fight against epidemic and for people at risk of getting infected, in accordance to guidance from health authorities."

People not wearing protective mask or not ensuring the minimum gap of two meters in public places will be fined VND1-3 million.

If people gather in groups of more than two in public places, they will be fined VND10-20 million per person. Facilities providing non-essential services that don’t stop operating during the social distancing period will be fined VND10-20 million. If they oppose officers on duty, they will face criminal prosecution. 

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