A food joint opened for delivery/takeaway orders on September 6 in Gia Lâm District, considered one of the COVID-19 free areas. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội on Wednesday allowed restaurants and food and drink establishments to reopen for delivery, starting 12:00 noon Thursday, but only in districts that have recorded no community COVID-19 cases since September 6.

The establishments are also required to close before 9pm every day.

19 districts and townships – Ba Đình, Ba Vì, Bắc Từ Liêm, Cầu Giấy, Đan Phượng, Gia Lâm, Hoài Đức, Long Biên, Mê Linh, Mỹ Đức, Nam Từ Liêm, Phú Xuyên, Phúc Thọ, Quốc Oai, Sóc Sơn, Sơn Tây, Thanh Oai, Ứng Hoà, and Tây Hồ – are at a ‘new normal’ level, or have no community cases since September 6, according to the official list from the health department late Wednesday.

This is part of the urgent document regulating COVID-19 prevention and control measures in the capital city signed by the Chairman of Hà Nội People’s Committee Chu Ngọc Anh.

Other services are also allowed to reopen include stores for stationery, textbooks, and other learning equipment (given that the new school year has started), mechanics, electronics, and home appliances.

Business and service establishments are to operate under the management, supervision and inspection of local authorities, the document noted.

They also must fully implement pandemic prevention measures, including mandatory 5K [khẩu trang (face mask), khử khuẩn (disinfection), khoảng cách (distance), không tụ tập (no gathering), and khai báo y tế (health declaration)] for staff, requiring consumers to scan QR codes to register their visit, regularly performing cleaning and disinfection at the establishment, and limiting direct contacts.

Other than these relaxations, most of the city – especially the inner urban districts – remain under strict lockdown in line with the Government’s Directive 16 since late July.

The city’s leaders asked the people and officials not to let their guard down, be complacent or be hasty in lifting restrictions when preparations and safety precautions are not ready.

The health department is tasked with developing sets of criteria for reopening and lifting of restrictions, based on vaccine coverage and outbreak developments and levels of public compliance with rules, which must be continually updated and reviewed to best reflect the situation.

The city’s competent authorities are asked to devise plans for the resumption of businesses and production activities and accompanying COVID-19 measures after September 21. The plans must be submitted to the People’s Committee and the health department no later than September 17.

The health department must report to the city’s authorities on the feedback from agencies and local governments before September 18, so that a new order on COVID-19 prevention and measures could be issued.

To date, in the fourth wave of infections that have affected the country since late April, Hà Nội Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has logged more than 3,800 COVID-19 cases. — VNS