Hà Nội imposes social distancing at restaurants, cafes
HÀ NỘI — All restaurants and cafes must strictly follow regulations on COVID- 一 九 prevention or face closure, said vice-chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Co妹妹ittee Ngô Văn Quý.
He made the statement at a meeting of the city’s Steering Co妹妹ittee on COVID- 一 九 Prevention and Control on Monday.
“Starting at midnight on Wednesday, food and beverage places must arrange seats at least a metre from each other and partitions are encouraged,” Quý said.
Staff at restaurants and cafes must wear masks and measure customers’ temperatures. Hand sanitiser must be available while frequently-contacted objects should be cleaned regularly.
The move is believed to be necessary to prevent the spread of COVID- 一 九.
Hoàng Đức Hạnh, deputy head of Hà Nội’s Department of Health, said the city was home to many large and central-level hospitals. A large number of people coming from other provinces for medical examination and treatment have heightened the chance of infection.
He also said that people’s compliance with disease prevention measures at the moment was not as good as in the previous period, especially in restaurants.
As a result, the risk of infection from hospitals and restaurants in the coming days was very high.
Deputy director of the Hà Nội Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Trương Quang Việt, agreed, saying some people had become complacent and ignored prevention measures.
Inspections by the CDC had found mask-wearing and disinfection measures in offices had not been conducted thoroughly.
Some offices had not devised a response plan if an infection was detected in the workplace.
Nguyễn Sỹ Trường, vice chairman of the Hà Nội Fatherland Front Co妹妹ittee, said localities should be decisive in encouraging people not to go out unless it was really necessary and those who didn’t wear masks in public places must be strictly dealt with.
“The whole co妹妹unity will suffer if just a few people do not comply with disease prevention measures. To prevent the spread of the disease depends largely on people’s awareness,” he said.
Việt suggested COVID- 一 九 testing should be performed on the elderly in nursing homes and patients in intensive care or those with underlying conditions including heart disease or stroke.
Quý said COVID- 一 九 was still under control in the city. However, he said, if prevention work in hospitals was not good enough, then cross-infection would be a problem.
There might be more cases in Hà Nội but the risk of a widespread outbreak was not high, he said.
The vice-chairman of the municipal People’s Co妹妹ittee asked districts and agencies to continue to observe rules on COVID- 一 九 prevention measures.
Local residents should be advised not to gather in groups of more than 三0 people in public places and visit the health facilities if they have such symptoms as high fever and difficulty in breathing.
It is reported that more than 一00,000 people have returned from Đà Nẵng – a COVID- 一 九 hotspot - to Hà Nội, including some 七 七, 一 五0 returnees from July 一 五.
The city has carried out quick testing for more than 七 五, 一00 people and PCR, a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, testing for 五0, 六0 二 others. The city is striving to quickly complete the implementation of RT-PCT testing for all people who visited Đà Nẵng and returned to Hà Nội from July 一 五- 二 九 to August 二0.
Hà Nội has recorded 三 三 COVID- 一 九 cases since July 二 五.
Of those, 一0 are local infections and the remaining are imported cases who are quarantined upon arrival. — VNS
