Health authorities in Ho Chi Minh City hope to reopen beauty clinics and cosmetic departments at hospitals from October 1, following months of closures under strict COVID-19 prevention rules.

The plan was mentioned in an official letter sent by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health to the municipal People’s Committee on Wednesday.

According to the health authority, both beauty clinics and cosmetic services at hospitals in the city have been shuttered since May 31 to comply with local government orders.

Additionally, practitioners working in hospitals’ cosmetic procedures have been supporting the city’s epidemic prevention efforts by helping at vaccination and testing sites.

Their contributions have played a part in the city’s initial success in pushing back the spread of the virus, with caseloads and death rates on a downward trend over the past few weeks.

In various districts within Ho Chi Minh City, including Can Gio District, District 7, and Thu Duc City, the epidemic has been deemed ‘under control,’ allowing local authorities to ease the months-long ban on certain businesses and services.

The Department of Health proposed that city leaders allow beauty clinics and hospital departments to reopen on the basis of COVID-19 prevention guidelines from October 1, considering that their staff have all received jabs against COVID-19 and the appointment-based operations of these facilities give less opportunity for the virus to spread between customers.

Ho Chi Minh City has been in an extension of strict travel restrictions since mid-August, under the prime minister’s Directive No. 16.

The directive bans gatherings of more than two people in public and requires all residents to stay indoors and only go outside with appropriate reasons.

The city had earlier imposed social distancing regulations at various levels since May 31.

It remains the gravest COVID-19 epicenter in Vietnam with 353,655 local infections, accounting for approximately half of the country’s 714,548 community transmissions since the fourth virus wave’s emergence on April 27.

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