Authorities in Vietnam’s south-central province of Khanh Hoa have allowed local discos, karaoke shops, and massage parlors to reopen starting Tuesday, after more than six months of suspension to curb the spread of COVID-19.  

Those facilities must operate at 50 percent of capacity and only offer their services to vaccinated customers.

The provincial People’s Committee announced the reopening, while also specifying the regulations for the organization of political events and activities, on Monday evening.

Those events and activities will be decided by district-level administrations, pursuant to the same requirements of vaccinated participants, limited attendance, and strict compliance with COVID-19 control guidance recommended by the Ministry of Health.

Conferences, seminars, arts and cultural events, physical training and sports activities, festivals, wedding parties, and religious activities can be conducted similarly, with no more than 100 attendees at the same time, QR code scanning mandatory, and approval from the commune-level People’s Committee.

The provincial authorities also require cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers to minimize travel to areas at high risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Those traveling to such areas must undergo home quarantine for seven days and make a health declaration at the nearest medical facility upon their return.

Discos, karaoke shops, and massage parlors have been suspended in Khanh Hoa for more than six months for COVID-19 prevention and control.

Previously, the provincial administration also resumed beach-going activities, supermarkets, and restaurants, permitted students to return to school, and welcomed back tourists in accordance with the road map of the local socio-economic recovery.

To date, Khanh Hoa has recorded 10,554 coronavirus infections and 93 deaths, according to a tally by news site VnExpress. 

With a population of 1.2 million people, the province has administered the first doses of vaccine to more than 939,000 people and the second shots to over 868,000 others, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

Vietnam has found 1,035,138 infections since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit it early last year, including 1,030,096 community transmissions in all of its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth wave broke out in late April.

More than 35.2 million people of the 98-million population in the Southeast Asian country have been fully inoculated against the coronavirus, according to the national COVID-19 vaccination portal.

The central government has relaxed pandemic control curbs over the past month as transmissions have slowed down, due in part to larger vaccine coverage.

However, the number of infections has appeared to rebound in several locales in recent days.

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