Foreigners drinking beer in the ‘backpacker’ street Ta Hien, downtown Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

These places, considered posing high risks for coronavirus spreading, are usually the first to be closed when a COVID-19 outbreak occurs and the last to reopen when it eases.

They have been ordered to shut down in the capital since late April last year in response to the emergence of the fourth wave of infections in the country.

The venues must ensure COVID-19 prevention and control measures as per health authority guidelines and advise customers with suspected COVID-19 symptoms – fever, coughing, breathing difficulties and loss of taste and smell, for example – to avoid using the services, and instead seek medical instructions from local health authorities.

District- and township-level people’s committees must cooperate with authorities to inspect these service venues in compliance with COVID-19 safety guidelines and other legal regulations.

With these services reopening and students in the first to sixth grades returning to school on Wednesday, Hanoi has resumed nearly all socio-economic activities, thanks to a high vaccination rate with about 16 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered so far.