Sunday, July 18, 2021, 11:10 GMT+7 Cars rush back to Hanoi on Phap Van - Cau Gie Expressway, July 24, 2021. Photo: Pham Tuan / Tuoi Tre People either exited or returned to Hanoi in a hurry late on Friday evening before the strict social distancing measures for COVID-19 prevention, which had just been announced by the city government earlier the same day, kicked in. Hanoi chairman Chu Ngoc Anh decided to enforce extensive social distancing measures under the prime minister’s Directive No. 16 for 15 days from 6:00 am on Saturday over the increase of new local infections, with the Delta variant spreading fast. People are requested to social distance and only make outdoor trips for food, medicine, hospital treatment, COVID-19 vaccination, and working at offices and businesses that are allowed to open.