HCMC orders restaurants, barber shops to close

By Dat Nguyen March 24, 2020 | 01:23 am PT

A woman stands in front of a bar in Bui Vien Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, on March 15, 2020 when authorities order places of amusement closed. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

HCMC has ordered all its restaurants and barber shops to close starting Tuesday over rising numbers of Covid-19 infections.

The decision, effective 6 p.m. Tuesday until the end of March, covers all the above mentioned businesses with a capacity of 30 people or more.

Pool clubs, gyms and beauty salons will also have to suspend operations.

On March 15, they had already ordered 180 dance clubs and bar s, along with almost 500 karaoke, massage parlors, cinemas and gaming facilities to close as it acted to contain the spread of the virus.

HCMC, a city of 13 million people, has confirmed 30 Covid-19 infections so far. Three have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Vietnam has had 123 Covid-19 cases so far, of whom 17 have recovered. Many of the active cases, currently in hospitals, are Vietnamese and foreigners arriving from Europe and the U.S.