Ho Chi Minh City chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong has decided to extend the social distancing period in the metropolis by two weeks as the pandemic situation is still very complicated.

From 0:00 on June 15 to 0:00 on June 29, the city will have to follow social distancing measures under the prime minister’s Directive No. 15, Phong said at a meeting on Monday.

The directive specifies that a gathering or meeting with more than 20 people in one room is prohibited.

Also, a gathering of more than 10 people outside office buildings, schools, and hospitals is not allowed.

People should keep a safe distance of at least two meters in public places, while non-essential businesses and services will remain closed.

All citizens, especially those above 60 years old, must only go outside when necessary.

Travel from virus-hit areas to other localities is restricted.

Over the next week, stricter or loosened social distancing rules will be applied in certain locations depending on the corresponding pandemic situation, chairman Phong stated.

A 15-day social distancing period was previously reinstated in Ho Chi Minh City from May 31.

Regulations under the prime minister’s Directive No. 15 were applied during this period.

However, Go Vap District and Thanh Loc Ward in District 12, which were considered as two major COVID-19 hotbeds in the city, had to follow stricter rules under the PM’s Directive No. 16.

Vietnam has documented 10,730 COVID-19 cases as of Monday afternoon, with 3,998 recoveries and 59 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health’s statistics.

The country has recorded 7,524 local infections in 40 provinces and cities since the beginning of the fourth transmission wave on April 27.

Ho Chi Minh City ranks third in the table with 845 cases.

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