HCMC districts are cautiously returning to normal

On Sunday afternoon, Vo Thi Khanh Huong, 51, a resident of District 7, went shopping in a supermarket two kilometers from her home.

Wearing a face mask, she had her body temperature checked, completed a medical statement and presented a certificate stating that she had received a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine two weeks previously. The procedure cost him about two minutes.

For more than a week, her family and neighbors received coupons for shopping, with each household entitled to one person for this task once a week.

“After three months at home, it feels so good to go out.”

She also liked the new rule that allows her to purchase goods on her own instead of through third parties.

Ho Chi Minh City was subject to Directive 16, which prohibits people from going outside except for “essential purposes”, including buying food and seeking treatment from July 9. However, as Covid-19 got more complicated, between August 23 and September 15, residents of the city were ordered to “stay where you are.”

After September 15, the city resumed food and drink delivery services and also lifted the inter-district delivery ban, but has yet to allow people to shop on their own except of the three districts of 7, Can Gio and Cu Chi, considered to have essentially brought the epidemic under control.

District 7 is also the only district in HCMC that allows people to walk and exercise in certain parks and tennis courts under strict conditions, including being fully immunized, wearing a face mask and keeping a distance. security of two meters with the others.

Tran Tri Dung, deputy district party leader, said that 10 days after relaxing some restrictions, the locality has not seen an increase in the number of new infections.

Therefore, the district plans to expand the pilot plan to bring more people into public sports and exercise, including the reopening of stadiums, indoor sports clubs and all parks equipped with exercise equipment. .

The district is also implementing a plan to resume regular medical examinations and treatment at District 7 Hospital, with treatment of Covid-19 patients assigned only to the District Field Hospital.

“More than 46% of the district’s population have received two doses of the vaccine and it is expected that everything will be covered by mid-October to restore production and business activities,” Dung said.

In Cu Chi district, traditional markets and shops selling essentials have been reopened in communes where no community cases have been found within 14 days, or “green zones”.

As of September 22, the district had 865 production and service facilities meeting the requirements to resume operations with more than 8,700 workers returning to work.

The district is also planning to resume several tourist activities, including day trips to ecotourism and historic sites.

In Hoa Phu commune, one of the “green zones” in Cu Chi, people have been allowed to shop once a week for the past 10 days.

Some businesses have also been allowed to reopen on condition that all employees have been fully vaccinated while employers are to organize regular mass testing of staff, said Nguyen Thi Cam Hong, chairman of the commune.

Cu Chi President Pham Thi Thanh Hien said in parallel with the pandemic measures, the district is preparing to gradually resume production and trading activities.

For now, the district aims to deliver its entire second Covid-19 shot by October 10.

A traffic police officer stops vehicles for random check in Cu Chi district on September 22, 2021. Photo by VnExpress / Ha Giang

In Can Gio district, President Nguyen Van Hong said the epidemic remained under control after 10 days of relaxed restrictions, with fewer than 10 cases per day. The district had recently spent three consecutive days without any community infections.

More than half of the population of Can Gio has been fully vaccinated and with more people to receive the second vaccine in the coming times, more restrictions will be lifted, he said.

The district is expected to let people shop two to three times a week and half of the total number of fishing boats to resume coastal activities.

The district also plans to let people go outside to exercise.

Can Gio has so far organized three tours for around 400 frontline workers, marking the reopening of HCMC tourism after more than three months.

President Hong said that in the coming time, the district will expand the tourism stimulus package to reopen more restaurants and hotels.

HCMV is the epicenter of the fourth wave of Covid-19 that hit Vietnam at the end of April, recording 375,794 cases and 14,368 deaths to date.

He’s been through different levels of the social distancing rule since the end of May.