The northern province of Quang Ninh resumed the operation of inter-provincial coaches to areas free from COVID-19 pandemic, except Hai Duong province, and tourism activities on March 11, after 16 days without new infection cases.
Ho Chi Minh City will continue the closure of discos, bars, karaoke parlors to ensure safety amid COVID-19 pandemic, while other service business types will be resumed from March 9.
Hanoi will expand COVID-19 testing for F2 cases and those in quarantined and high-risk areas to prevent the spread of the pandemic, said Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Chu Xuan Dung.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam requested relevant agencies and localities to try to limit lockdown to the smallest possible scale during an online meeting of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control with Hai Duong, Quang Ninh and Hanoi authorities on February 3.
All karaoke parlors, bars and discotheques in Hanoi suspended operations from 0:00 on February 1 in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
After being allowed to reopen, Hanoi’s “sleepless” streets like Ta Hien, Ma May and Luong Ngoc Quyen become busy again following the prolonged “COVID-19 holiday”.
Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee has allowed entertainment facilities such as bars and karaoke parlours to re-open after the country has gone through 56 straight days without any community transmission of COVID-19.
Ho Chi Minh City lost around VND10 trillion ($425 million) in first-quarter tourism revenue, with its foreign visitor numbers plummeting 42 percent year-on-year due to the novel coronavirus.
Millions of Vietnamese labourers in both official and non-official sectors have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, figures released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) show.
A proposal to ban the sale of alcohol in karaoke parlours by the Ministry of Health under a freshly released draft law on alcohol harm prevention has sparked public concern.