Hanoi to again suspend in-store services of restaurants, salon

Hanoi, July 13 The Vietnamese capital of Hanoi will again suspend in-store services of restaurants, cafes and salons from Tuesday amid increasing Covid-19 cases.

Takeaways and deliveries will still be allowed, Xinhua news agency reported citing a circular released by Hanoi's municipal People's Committee as saying on Monday.

Physical exercises, entertainment activities and large gatherings at public venues such as parks and gardens will also be suspended, according to the circular.

Mandatory medical declarations, 14-day quarantines and other epidemic control measures will be imposed on anyone who returns to Hanoi from the southern Ho Chi Minh City and other Covid-19 hotspots, the circular said.

A similar suspension was previously carried out on May 25 in the wake of a Covid-19 outbreak in the city, and was lifted on June 22 when the spread was curbed.

However, new clusters of cases emerged in several localities of Hanoi last week, ending the city's streak of nine days without any new community cases, and leading to the decision of another suspension of in-store services.

Most of the new cases involved people who returned from HCMC, currently the country's largest Covid-19 hotspot, as around 6,300 people have travelled to Hanoi from HCMC since June 23, the media reported.