Saigonese queue to buy food, get a haircut on first day of reopening

More than a dozen shippers and customers lined up to buy food at a noodle shop on Nguyen Huu Cau Street, District 1.
Hoa, the owner, said she and three employees got up at 4 a.m. to cook the broth and prepare ingredients for the first reopening day after more than four months of closure.

About 10 kilometers away, staff of a pho restaurant on Phan Van Tri Street, Go Vap District, repeatedly asked customers to line up and keep a safe distance. Employees spray disinfectant when delivering goods and money to ensure epidemic prevention.
"Last month, when I had just recovered from Covid-19, the first dish I thought about was pho. It's been three months since I've eaten this dish," said Hao, 41, holding a bag of pho after more than 30 minutes of waiting.

People keep 1.5 meters apart in front of a noodle shop on Su Van Hanh Street, District 10.

In addition to eateries and fashion stores, many barbershops were also packed.
Pham Van Trinh, owner of a hair salon in Tan Binh District, said since his shop only has two barbers working it has been super busy.
"Many clients come in the morning, but I have to reschedule them for another time to avoid crowds," Trinh said, adding customers must show they are fully vaccinated or have a certificate of recovery from Covid-19.

Phan Xuan Dam, 53, carrying a vaccination certificate, waited nearly two hours for a haircut.
"I asked to take the the morning off to go get a haircut," he said.

"I'm happy to be back at work again and able to earn a living. This morning many people came to get a haircut, but due to social distancing, I didn't dare to accept many customers," said Dang Khoa, a barber in Binh Thanh Disitrict.
According to regulations, barbershops and salons are only allowed to operate at half capacity.

The car wash, repair shop in Binh Thanh District is also crowded with customers on reopening day.

Nearly three kilometers away, another repair shop on the sidewalk of Dien Bien Phu Street also welcomes its first customers.
Van Tan, the shop owner, said: "This morning, many people passed by waiting to pump their wheels and repair their vehicles after days of inactivity."

After more than a month depending on military personnel and task forces to buy and deliver food and essential products, many people finally had the chance to go out this morning to buy vegetables and fruit.
The owner of a shop in Thu Duc City said on the first day of reopening, he imported two tons of vegetables and a ton of fruit and would increase the number in the coming days.

"I bought a few kilograms of vegetables and fruits, enough to eat for two days. Now I don't need to hoard and don't have to worry about food shortage anymore," said Hoan, a Thu Duc City resident.

On Pham Van Dong Street, Go Vap District, dozens of people came to apply for unemployment insurance but were rejected.
"I came here to receive unemployment benefits. I was instructed to bring documents to the post office to receive it. But when I went to the post office, staff said to come totheinsurance center," a disappointed 41-year-old female worker said after many hours of waiting.
Except for some sectors considered to pose a high Covid infection risk, most public and private production and service facilities in HCMC are allowed to reopen from Friday.
HCMC previously went through more than 120 days under many different levels of social distancing.
Since the fourth Covid-19 wave hit Vietnam in late April, the city has recorded over 392,000 infections, accounting for almost half of the national tally, and 14,814 have died.