Quang Ninh province reopens certain services, local tourism hinh anh 1Medical workers take samples for COVID-19 testing from traders at Ha Long 1 Market in Quang Ninh province (Photo: VNA) 
Quang Ninh (VNA) – Quang Ninh province, a major tourism and economic hub in northern Vietnam, has allowed certain services and local tourism to resume operation since 12:00 on June 8 after no new cases of COVID-19 community transmission were recorded here for one month to June 7.

Accordingly, local tourist attractions, relic sites, places of worship, along with cultural and sports services, gym and yoga centres, billiard clubs as well as coffee shops, cafes, restaurants, tea stalls, lottery stores have opened their doors. Golf courses are also permitted to welcome local players.

Meanwhile, dance halls, karaoke and massage parlours, bars, pubs, clubs, and game stores remain closed.

The provincial People’s Committee demanded the abovementioned sites comply with the regulated COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

It told the chairpersons of district-level localities to consult with local Party committees and steering boards for pandemic prevention and control about the resumption of those services and activities in their areas.

They have the responsibility to manage, instruct, examine, and monitor the sites and must suspend any activity or service failing to adhere to anti-COVID-19 requirements.

Meanwhile, the Quang Ninh Department of Tourism is responsible for coordinating with the Department of Health to discuss with other provinces and cities, basing on evaluations by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, to work out plans for welcoming tourists from “safe” areas nationwide so as to swiftly and strongly revive tourism in the time ahead.

The Tourism Department was also requested to work with the administrations of localities in the province, the Quang Ninh Tourism Association, management boards of tourism areas, travel companies, hotels, restaurants, and relevant enterprises to develop travel stimulus programmes and special tourism products.

Notably, the provincial People’s Committee is encouraging tours with packaged services, including coronavirus pooled testing.

The Tourism Department needs to publicise the tours and tourism programmes before June 11, according to the committee.

To augment efforts against COVID-19, authorities have ordered local production and business establishments and industrial parks to conduct random antigen or pooled tests every week for 20 percent of their employees, labourers living in boarding houses, and all the workers supplying services for businesses in industrial parks.

Quang Ninh has been working to tighten measures to prevent the disease transmission from other localities in an appropriate manner while easing restrictions within the province in a controllable manner. It has stayed vigilant and kept paying attention to grassroots anti-pandemic efforts by enhancing villages, wards, and townships’ capacity.

It is also pushing ahead with monitoring people related to COVID-19 clusters in other localities and stepping up control over people and vehicles entering the province.

As many as 49 COVID-19 rapid response teams have been set up across Quang Ninh. The provincial People’s Committee has also established three teams specialised in inspecting pandemic prevention and control measures at industrial parks, factories, enterprises, and construction sites.

Secretary of the Quang Ninh Party Committee Nguyen Xuan Ky, head of the provincial steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control, said the province has set the working theme for 2021 as “keeping the province safe and sustaining the growth trend in the new normal; accelerating development and completing uniform and modern socio-economic infrastructure; and promoting regional connectivity,” so as to create prerequisites for Quang Ninh to achieve the twin targets of controlling the pandemic and boosting socio-economic development.

Hit hard by a resurgence of COVID-19 in the first quarter, Quang Ninh nonetheless posted gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth of 9.02 percent, or double the national average.

This put the province in second place in terms of GRDP growth in the northern key economic region, following the neighbouring city of Hai Phong.

The province aims to maintain its GRDP growth rate at more than 10 percent this year.

It has set a goal of having modern industry and service sectors and becoming one of the region’s most comprehensive and dynamic development hubs by 2025, which is part of its growth targets for 2020-2025./.
VNA