Hanoi allows reopening of bars, karaoke parlours, pedestrian streets

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ngo Van Quy announced the decision during a meeting on September 15, adding that the entertainment venues – shut since August 1 as the city battled a new wave of cases related to Da Nang outbreak – must still comply with COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

The staff of the venues must wear masks the entire time they work, while customers must fulfil basic hygiene and hand sanitation requirements, Quy said.

He also agreed with the proposal from Hoan Kiem district’s authorities to allow the pedestrian street around Hoan Kiem Lake to reopen starting September 18.

Quy said while previous outbreaks in the city had basically been eliminated, the risk of COVID-19 in the city remains significant given its economic and social-cultural hub status, in addition to the expected resumption of international flights to six destinations in Asia – China, China’s Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Cambodia and Laos.

When these flights resume, Hanoi would receive about 2,000 foreign entries a week so municipal authorities must prepare quarantine facilities to ensure COVID-19 prevention and control, Quy said.

During the city’s upcoming important occasions such as the 1,010th anniversary of the capital city’s foundation and the 66th anniversary of Hanoi’s liberation (September 10) – anti-pandemic measures must be carried out to prevent an outbreak, Vice Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Ngo Thi Thanh Hang ordered.