A restaurateur and five customers in the southernmost Vietnamese province of Ca Mau have been fined VND90 million (US$3,913) for violating COVID-19 prevention regulations when they gathered to drink and sing karaoke last week.

The People’s Committee of Ca Mau City in the namesake province on Wednesday confirmed the penalty for N.H., the owner of Huyen Cat Tuong Restaurant, and five of her customers.

Each member of the group is obliged to pay a VND15-million ($652) fine.

H. and her customers were caught drinking and singing karaoke together using a loudspeaker at her restaurant when a local task force for COVID-19 prevention was patrolling the locality on the evening of June 2.

The group was uncooperative when authorities attempted to disband their gathering.

Their actions violated a mandate issued by the chairman of Ca Mau Province banning restaurants from serving more than four people at a table and over ten customers in a closed room, as well as requesting that all restaurants place tables at least 1.5 meters apart starting June 1.

Restaurateurs are responsible for collecting health declaration information from customers and reporting to officials when required, along with taking other disease prevention measures.

Ca Mau has recorded zero community coronavirus cases since the beginning of a new wave of infections in Vietnam on April 27.

The Ministry of Health confirmed 70 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday morning, including 66 local infections in Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, and Ha Tinh, taking the national caseload to 9,635 patients, with 3,636 recoveries and 55 deaths.

As many as 6,451 domestic infections have been recorded in the country in the ongoing round.

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