Regulations on COVID-19 prevention loosened as pandemic back under control

Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee has issued a document on the removal of social distancing measures for Ia Pa district and Ayun Pa town from 0:00 on March 11, while restoring the operation of previously suspended activities and service establishments. The two localities were urged to continue to follow the strict implementation of general measures in epidemic prevention and control according to health sector regulations.

The People's Committee of Thai Binh Province is now allowing local religious facilities to reopen from 7 am on March 10, but festivals, cultural and sports events featuring large gatherings of people are still forbidden. Food and beverage service establishments are open for sale indoors and kiosks must ensure distance between tables.

The northern province of Quang Ninh resumed the operation of inter-provincial coaches to areas free from COVID-19 pandemic, apart from Hai Duong Province, as well as tourism activities on March 11, after 16 days without any new infection cases. Cinemas, bars, pubs, Internet and game shops, discotheques and karaoke parlours, aside from those in Dong Trieu town, are allowed to reopen and required to seriously follow pandemic prevention and control measures as instructed by the Health Ministry. Tourism service facilities and religious establishments must also follow prevention measures in the new normal.

To support the local tourism industry, Quang Ninh continues to promote a number of measures to stimulus domestic travel, including applying exemptions and the reduction of ticket prices to attractions in the UNESCO-recognised Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Museum and Yen Tu Monuments in 2021. The Quang Ninh Department of Tourism has advised the province authorities to host about 150 cultural, sports, tourism and trade events this year to attract tourists to Quang Ninh and stimulate tourism demand as well as domestic consumption.

Visitors to Co To Island in Quang Ninh undergoing medical checks. (Photo: NDO/Quang Tho)

A total of VND502.9 billion (US$21.8 million) is to be officially added to the 2021 State budget expenditure estimate serving COVID-19 prevention and control efforts. According to the Prime Minister’s newly-issued Decision No. 314/QĐ-TTg on the matter, the money will be sourced from the central budget reserve for 2021. It will be channelled to the Ministry of Health for the further purchase of related materials, chemicals, bio-products, and medical equipment, in line with options approved by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control last year.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper in conjunction with the Ho Chi Minh City Young Entrepreneurs Association on March 10 presented medical equipment worth VND6.5 billion (US$282,600) to the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases to serve its treatment of COVID-19 patients. The equipment includes an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, two continuous dialysis machines and two monitors, purchased with funds donated by individuals, businesses, readers of the Tuoi Tre Newspaper.

According to the Department for Campaigning, Receiving and Distributing the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Fund of Ho Chi Minh City, as of the end of February 2021, the unit has received over VND258.3 billion from businesses and individuals both at home and abroad. It has distributed cash and goods worth more than VND168.7 billion to front-line medical forces, as well as people facing difficulties due to the epidemic in the city.