A cafe in Đà Nãng City's downtown. The city will allow all cafes and restaurants to reopen from September 11. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG — All restaurants, cafes and public gatherings with fewer than 30 people are allowed from 1am of Friday in Đà Nẵng as the central city decided to loosen social distancing orders, local authorities announced in a statement on Thursday.

Owners of restaurants, cafes and street food courts can offer on-site service but must maintain a 1m safe distance among customers.

The city said local people had entered a new stage of COVID-19 prevention measures as the pandemic had been put under control from last week and transport services resumed from September 5.

However, the city still warns local residents to only go out when necessary and wear face masks in public.

Entertainment, karaoke joints, massage parlours, sports, bars, discos, public internet cafes, casinos, gyms, swimming pools and events with more than 30 people are still banned.

Local residents will be given tickets to go to markets every three days.

Junior and high schools and colleges will begin the new school year from September 14, while primary schools and kindergartens will start from September 21.

According to a report from the city’s Centre for Disease Control (CDC), 72,497 local residents in the community had been tested, of which 72,397 were negative for SARS-CoV-2, 99.8 per cent, between September 1-9.

To date, 308 out of 389 COVID-19 patients have been released from hospitals and only 35 patients are in treatment at quarantine centres.

A Japanese restaurant in Đà Nẵng. Service will be allowed to resume from 1am on September 11. VNS Photo Công Thành

The city has witnessed no SARS-CoV-2 infection cases in the community for 13 days in a row as of Thursday.

Quảng Nam Province still retains check-points to control people coming from Đà Nẵng, and daily travellers between Đà Nẵng and Quảng Nam, Hội An must report their health status.

Thừa Thiên-Huế, Bình Định and HCM City still require 14 days of isolation for all people travelling from Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and Hải Dương – three hotspots for COVID-19 in recent weeks. VNS