Saigon delays annual Ao Dai fest over coronavirus epidemic

The municipal tourism department had proposed that the seventh edition of the festival, originally scheduled to take place in March, be delayed until April.

The postponement follows Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s call to stop organizing events like festivals that gather large crowds. 

HCMC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said the new date for the festival will be decided later, depending on Covid-19 situation.

The festival is one of the city’s leading tourism and cultural events, attracting a lot of local and foreign tourists.

The ao dai has for long been an icon of Vietnamese culture, praised for highlighting the graceful beauty of Vietnamese women.

The ao dai is an enduring symbol of Vietnamese culture that highlights the beauty and grace of Vietnamese women. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.

Vietnam has suspended entry from all coronavirus-hit areas around the world. Citizens of countries or territories affected by the virus are required to submit health declarations on arrival and will be placed in quarantine if they carry symptoms like high fever, coughing and breathing difficulties.

On Monday, Ho Chi Minh City quarantined 80 people returning from Daegu City, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in South Korea. Khanh Hoa, which was declared free of Covid-19 Wednesday, is also having 36 arrivals from South Korea in quarantine.

On Wednesday, the last of 16 Covid-19 patients recorded in Vietnam was discharged. The country has recorded no new infections over the past two weeks.

The global death toll of the disease has reached 2,804, mostly in China, followed by Iran with 22, South Korea with 13 and Italy with 12.