Reopening

Starting Thursday, over 20 outlets of bubble tea chain Gong Cha started resuming on-site services after five months of suspension. As the city allows food and beverage facilities to serve 50 percent of their capacity and close before 9 p.m., the Cong Coffee chain is also testing the waters with five outlets reopening. Coffee Bike also reopened five stores on the same day. On Friday, Japanese style hotpot chain Kichi Kichi will resume dining for customers who have made reservations. Some companies, however, choose to delay their reopening to be better prepared. Dau Homemade, which sells traditional Vietnamese food, needs another two or three days to get ready. Lagom Cafe won’t open for another two weeks, as its CEO Do Thi Ly Na said the store needs more time to observe market reactions and to complete a new look. The cautious decisions of food and beverage facilities in Ho Chi Minh City came as shop owners are concerned their staff might be infected with Covid-19 as the …

[Read more...] about HCMC restaurants reopen with caution

Restaurants and cafes in HCM City have reopened to dine-in customers since Thursday morning after five months of closure due to the severe Covid-19 outbreak. Many noodle restaurants on Cao Thang Street in District 3 opened early to serve breakfasts. Bich Nga, manager at a Highlands Coffee shop said that they now could only serve 30 customers at a time. "Customers are asked to do a QR health declaration scan and disinfect their hands before being served at our cafe," she said. Many street-side restaurants and cafes were also crowded with customers. They must close at 9 pm each day. …

[Read more...] about HCM City restaurants and cafes reopen to dine-in customers

Customers were required to leave records of entry at each food and drink establishment using QR codes via the health declaration/medical surveillance system. HCM CITY – HCM City residents were given a taste of the 'new normal' as in-person dining at restaurants resumed yesterday. For the past five months only offer delivery and take-away services were allowed due to the severe COVID-19 outbreak. Many restaurants, cafes, and other food and beverages in Thủ Đức City and Bình Thạnh, Tân Bình and Tân Phú districts received customers since early morning. There were still restrictions in place and customers were required to sit at least two metres apart and comply with 5K regulations. “I’m very excited to know that the city has allowed restaurants to offer in-person dining because it means we’ll get more customers and of course more profit,” Nguyễn Thị Trang, owner of Huế-styled snakehead fish soup shop on Thủ Đức …

[Read more...] about HCM City reopens dine-in service from Thursday

Argentina has lifted lockdown restrictions in 18 of 24 provinces, although maintaining strict social distancing protocols. (AFP/JUAN MABROMATA) Until now, only businesses deemed essential had been allowed to open. Argentina's new phase of lockdown means some activities will be restarted in 18 of its 24 provinces. However, social distancing measures will remain in place until Jun 28, although they will be more flexible in regions with few or no cases of the deadly virus. By Monday, Argentina had recorded more than 22,000 cases, 670 deaths and more than 7,000 recovered patients amongst a population of 44 million. Around 85 per cent of the cases have been in the greater Buenos Aires area, home to 14 million people. Schools throughout the country will remain closed while mass gatherings, shows, concerts and sporting events are still prohibited. Exercise is permitted now, between 8.00pm and 8.00am. "After 80 days we're back!" Natalia Babreno, a 44-year-old, told AFP as …

[Read more...] about More than 20,000 shops reopen in Argentine capital

Bình Sơn-Ninh Chữ Beach in Phan Rang City in the central province of Ninh Thuận. —VNA/VNS Photo Công Thử HÀ NỘI — Foreign visitors to Phú Quốc, Khánh Hòa, Quảng Nam, Đà Nẵng and Quảng Ninh –l ocalities selected in a pilot reopening programme – will not have to quarantine from next month as long as they test negative for SARS-CoV-2. They will also need to book a combo of air tickets, COVID-19 testing, hotel and registered destinations. According to a proposal by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on a pilot programme for foreign tourists beginning in November, those visiting Việt Nam for seven days will be tested as soon as they arrive. If negative, they could avoid a quarantine period. However, they have to commit to staying with their group, not leaving arranged locations and minimising contact with people from other tour groups. People on tours lasting more than seven days will be tested again on the …

[Read more...] about No seven-day quarantine for foreign tourists with negative COVID-19 tests: tourism ministry’s plan

The southern central province of Binh Dinh is seeking prime ministerial approval for a pilot project to welcome foreign tourists again from November. Under the provincial people’s committee’s proposal, the province will focus on serving travellers from Northeast Asia, Russia, the US and Europe. Tourists in Eo Gio in Binh Dinh Tourists who come to Binh Dinh have to show the full Covid-19 vaccination certificate. They also need to test negative for Covid-19, using the RT-PCR method or rapid tests within 72 hours before their arrival. All staff of travel companies who serve tourists are required to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 The province plans to reopen tourist sites in Quy Nhon City, Phuong Mai Island and Cat Tien Town in the coming time. Binh Dinh has recorded 1,604 Covid-19 cases, including 1,382 discharged from hospital. Among those, 17 died from the disease. Around 679,000 local residents aged from 18 have been vaccinated against Covid-19, …

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Residents across Ho Chi Minh City woke up on Thursday morning excited to finally be able to visit their favorite restaurants for some delicious breakfasts following a months-long ban on sit-down service due to COVID-19. Owners and employees at eateries throughout the city began cleaning their tables and preparing their kitchens early in the morning to get ready for dine-in customers, signs of a 'new normal,' or living safely with the coronavirus. “A bowl of pho is best served hot," said Huynh Tran, an employee of a pho restaurant in Tan Binh District. "You have to eat the dish right at the restaurant to be able to taste every flavor.” A woman enjoys a bowl of ' pho' in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, October 28, 2021. Photo: Cong Trung / Tuoi Tre Tran Thi Loan, a local resident, said she decided to wake up earlier than usual so that she could be the first to arrive at this pho restaurant. “The venue isn’t so crowded early in the morning, and …

[Read more...] about Residents enjoy ‘new normal’ breakfasts as Ho Chi Minh City resumes dine-in service

Ho Chi Minh City has allowed sit-down food and beverage services to reopen from Thursday, after nearly five months of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a decision of the municipal administration. The decision came as Vietnam is easing strict COVID-19 restrictions, which had been applied for several months, to reactivate socio-economic activities under ‘new normal conditions,’ a euphemism for living safely with the coronavirus. City authorities required restaurants and diners to stop offering in-person services in May to stall transmissions that have decelerated over the past few weeks owing to social distancing measures and a nationwide vaccination campaign. Under the decision issued on Wednesday, all dine-in eateries in the city are required to operate at no more than 50 percent of their normal capacity, to close by 9:00 pm every day, and not to serve alcoholic drinks to guests on the spot, except for those organizing wedding parties or serving customers at …

[Read more...] about Ho Chi Minh City resumes dine-in service to adapt to COVID-19