Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam have reopened local beaches in areas deemed safe, including the tourism hub Nha Trang City, this weekend, according to local authorities.

The Khanh Hoa People’s Committee said on Friday that citizens in ‘green zones,’ or areas at low risk of COVID-19 transmission, would be allowed to gather in groups of no more than five at local beaches and beach parks from Saturday. 

Beachgoers need to stay at least two meters away from one another, while parking services and street vending near the beaches are still forbidden.

Provincial leaders also approved the resumption of in-person conferences, cultural and sports events, as well as festivals, in safe zones.

However, each function can only admit a limited number of participants, all of whom must be at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19.

Other businesses, including bars, pubs, clubs, karaoke shops, music venues, massage parlors, Internet cafés, and cinemas, will still be shuttered.

Khanh Hoa officers will maintain patrols at interprovincial gateways and entrances to locked-down areas.

Nha Trang City has ordered lower-level authorities to remove the control posts at entrances of green zones, clearing barricades around public parks, and restore the normal urban landscape, said Nguyen Sy Khanh, chairman of the local People’s Committee. 

Khanh Hoa has documented 8,566 COVID-19 cases, including 89 deaths, since the pandemic erupted in Vietnam in early 2020, according to the Ministry of Heath.

Home to the renowned Nha Trang beaches, the south-central province has applied various social distancing measures to curb the virus spread in recent months, but is now implementing a stepwise easing of these rules as infection rates are going on a downward trend. 

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