Ho Chi Minh City lifts curbs for vaccinated people

Ho Chi Minh City, Nov 18 (IANS) Vietnam's pandemic hotspot Ho Chi Minh City has announced that people who have received at least one shot of a Covid-19 vaccine or recovered from the disease will be permitted to engage in socio-economic activities.

This is part of the temporary measures adapted for the flexible, safe and effective control of Covid-19 issued by the city's administration earlier this week, reports Xinhua news agency.

Children who haven't reached the age eligible for vaccination can also take part in socio-economic activities, but they have to be accompanied by inoculated adults.

The activities include participating in large gatherings such as festivals, cultural and sport events, using public transport, working at public workplaces, and attending classes, among others.

The activities themselves can also be subject to certain restrictions depending on the Covid-19 risk levels of each area, which are classified mainly by vaccination rate and the number of infections among population.

Since Tuesday, the city has also allowed non-essential businesses like bars, night clubs, and karaoke parlours to resume full operation in low-risk areas and at half capacity in medium-risk ones.

These services cannot operate in places still classified at "high" or "very high" risk.

After over six months of closure as part of Covid-19 restrictions, these are among the last services to reopen in the southern Vietnamese city.

Most of the normal activities and services have been resumed since early October after months of stringent social distancing measures.

Ho Chi Minh City remains Vietnam's largest pandemic hotspot with more than 1,000 new cases reported per day.

It has so far logged over 446,000 Covid-19 infections in the latest wave of infection which started in late April, according to the municipal centre for disease control.