More than 9,000 household businesses in Hanoi ceased operations in the first two months of 2020, a third of which cited the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the reason for their closure, according to the municipal taxman.

According to the Hanoi Tax Department, the number of household businesses that generated invoices in February was 4,281, a reduction of 57.4 percent from the same period last year.

Revenue and payable tax from household businesses in the Vietnamese capital also dropped 53 percent and 50.7 percent, respectively, last month compared to February 2019.

Overall, more than 9,000 household businesses in Hanoi went out of business or temporarily closed in January and February. A third of them have attributed the closures to COVID-19.

The hardest-hit sectors include accommodation, catering, and any business that involves dealing with China, the taxman said.

It forecast that Hanoi would see its domestic revenue, excluding revenue from land, dropping by VND4.2-5.4 trillion (US$181-232 million) in 2020 in the best-case scenario that the COVID-19 epidemic ends in the first quarter.

If the epidemic persists to the second quarter of the year, the revenue loss might amount to VND6.6-9.4 trillion ($283-404 million), it warns.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 138,000 people and killed more than 5,100 globally as of Friday afternoon, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has reported 47 infections so far. Sixteen of them have fully recovered by February 26 while the remaining 31 cases are treated in nine provinces and cities.

Schools in many parts of the nation have been closed for over a month, as international travel is restricted and tourist attractions shuttered over COVID-19 fears.

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