HCMC health department wants bars, karaoke parlors reopened

In a communication to the People's Committee on Thursday it said all employees at those businesses must be fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid. Their customers must satisfy either one of those conditions or test negative for the coronavirus within the last 72 hours.

In areas with medium and high risk, the businesses could reopen but at only 50 percent and 25 percent capacity respectively, it said.

They should not be allowed to reopen yet in areas with very high coronavirus risks, it said.

Barbershops too could reopen, operating at 75, 50 and 25 percent of capacity in medium, high and very high risk areas.

Street vendors and lottery ticket sellers could resume normal business in areas with low and medium risk. In high-risk areas, they must either be fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19. But in areas with very high risk, they need to wait longer to resume.

Activities involving large crowds could resume with no restrictions in areas with low risk.

In places where the risk levels are medium, high and very high, they can be held at 75, 50 and 25 percent capacity, and participants should be fully vaccinated, have recovered from Covid or tested negative for the infection within the last 72 hours.

Areas with low risk are Thu Duc City and Go Vap, Tan Binh, 1, 7, 8, 10, Can Gio, and Cu Chi districts.

Those designated medium-risk are Phu Nhuan, Binh Thanh, Tan Phu, Hoc Mon, Nha Be, Binh Chanh, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, and 12.

Binh Tan is the only district considered high-risk.

No area in HCMC is considered to be at very high risk.

The status is updated weekly.

Karaoke and massage parlors, bars and night clubs in HCMC have been closed for around half a year now.

There are around 680 of them.