HCMC to allow vaccinated people, recovered patients on the streets after Sept. 30

Starting Friday, all inner-city checkpoints will be removed but the city police will maintain patrols to ensure safety, the city's chairman Le Hoa Binh said at a meeting held Thursday morning to roll out plan on easing Covid-19 restrictions in the southern metropolis from Oct.1.

The city will stop issuing travel papers and will apply information technology in Covid-19 control and inspection instead to reduce trouble for people, Binh said.

Nguyen Sy Quang, deputy director of HCMC police, said people who have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot at least 14 days ago or have contracted and recovered from Covid-19 within the past six months can be on the street.

When requested by the authorities, people can show their QR codes health declaration apps to show their vaccination or infection and recovery records. If their records have not been updated online, they can present hard copies.

People are not allowed to leave the city without supervision and anyone attempting to do so will be stopped at checkpoints at the city gateways, Binh said.

Those who want to come back to the city should send a petition to the city's Transport Department, he said, adding that the city has not decided on regulations to allow people to come back to the city on their own yet.

HCMC has gone 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 more than 380,870 infections, accounting for almost half of the national tally, and 14,631 have died.

Over 95 percent of its adult population have received one Covid-19 vaccine shot, and 45 percent fully vaccinated.

In a draft plan sent to district authorities for feedback Monday, the municipal administration said starting October 1, the city will ease Covid-19 restrictions gradually depending on the pandemic situation.

Production and business organizations that need to have employees on site can resume operations on the condition that all of them have been fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 within the past six months; in other words, "green pass" holders. They will also have to follow all Covid-19 prevention measures regulated by the Ministry of Health.

Covid-19 outbreak has been said to be put under control in Districts 1, 7, Can Gio, Cu Chi, Go Vap, Nha Be, Phu Nhuan and Tan Binh.

Certain operations have resumed as part of HCMC's reopening trial in Districts 7, Cu Chi and Can Gio.