HCMC district wants to serve food, drinks on site

In a proposal sent to the city administration Thursday, District 7, one of the first to put the Covid-19 outbreak under control, said it would like to have restaurants, eateries and coffee shops serve customers at their establishments on a pilot scheme.

As it proposed, such establishments must meet certain conditions, including having less than 20 people in one space at once, and reducing their capacities to serve customers to under 30 percent.

All staff and customers that want to eat and drink on site must be fully vaccinated for over 14 days or recovered from Covid-19 within the past six months.

The establishment must spread at least 100 square meters while those that can provide outdoor and airy space without the need of using air conditioning will be given priority.

In addition, restaurants and coffee houses seeking to offer the on-site service must fulfill their commitment to the district steering committee for Covid-19 prevention and control on ensuring the implementation of conditions for doing business and must be appraised by the district People's Committee.

They will also have to agree to the condition of having surveillance cameras set up at their establishments and connected to the district’s Center for Disease Prevention and Control and Economic Recovery.

District 7 proposed the pilot time from Oct. 10 until the city officially resumes all on-site food and drink services.

Currently, all food and beverage businesses in Ho Chi Minh City can only sell take-out after the city lifted lockdown on Oct. 1.

In late May, HCMC ordered that all restaurants, eateries, and coffee houses serve takeaway only as the new Covid-19 outbreak loomed larger.

Then on July 9, the city had suspended takeaway services when it became the epicenter of the nation’s fourth wave. It was not until Sept. 8 that the city announced to resume takeaway services.

District 7 along with Can Gio and Cu Chi are the first areas to have been able to basically control the outbreak, with the city allowing them to gradually reopen since Sept. 15, two weeks sooner than the rest of the city.