Restaurants in Thủ Đức City serve alcoholic beverages. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Industry and Trade has said that with COVID-19 basically well controlled, eateries should be gradually allowed to serve alcohol and beer.

Customers meeting safety criteria like being fully immunised should be served alcoholic beverages and food and beverage establishments should close at 9pm, allow only 50 per cent of covers at a time and set tables at least two metres apart, it said.

All employees must have got at least one shot of a vaccine or recovered from the disease in the last six months, and the establishments need to regularly test them for COVID, it said.

Eateries must have preventive measures based on authorities’ guidelines, separate areas for delivery and hand disinfectants and soaps for customers, it said.

Bùi Tá Hoàng Vũ, director of the department, said Thủ Đức City and District 7, where alcohol can be served, have seen no problems, and the city should allow other districts too so that food businesses could recover.

But the Department of Health has said the city should first select a few more districts where the disease is under control to trial the alcohol plan at restaurants, and not do it city-wide. — VNS