Hanoi watering holes attract huge crowds on reopening day

After remaining closed for nearly two months following the latest Covid-19 outbreak, bars, karaoke parlors and dance clubs in the capital were allowed to open on Tuesday.
All businesses in the country are now open. Bars, karaoke parlors, dance clubs, and Internet cafes were shut on February 2, and restaurants and street tea and coffee stalls, on February 16.

Around 10 p.m. Tuesday, Hanoi's iconic Ta Hien beer street is filled with young people.

The street remained packed at midnight.

A bar that attracted hundreds of patrons.

People were required to wear face masks to the bar, sanitize their hands and have their body temperatures checked before entering.

They were also required to submit online health declarations.

A bar employee told VnExpress: "Since the day of reopening is a weekday, we did not have a lot of patrons. During weekends we open until 1 a.m. and get thousands of customers. They have to wait to enter."

"We are excited because it has been a long time since we had this noisy vibe at night," a woman patron said.
Hanoi has now gone over a month without a Covid case. It recorded 35 during the latest outbreak that began in late January.