A karaoke shop in Ha Tinh Province, Vietnam has been subject to an administrative fine for violations of the COVID-19 prevention and control regulations, resulting in a large number of people in direct contact with infected patients, the provincial People's Committee said on Tuesday.

Nguyen Van Toan, the owner of An Hong karaoke shop, was charged a total fine of VND29 million (US$1,270) following inspections conducted by local authorities earlier this month.

During the inspections, officials found the karaoke shop failing to comply with COVID-19 prevention and control protocols, including running service during the daily ban from 20:00 to 0:00 and allowing drug use at the venue.

The rapid COVID-19 testing a week later returned five positive samples from the karaoke shop’s waitresses, one of whom was later confirmed negative in a real-time RT-PCR test, according to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper sources.

The four cases were found having visited many local markets and restaurants after they resumed work at the karaoke shop in October and came in direct contact with hundreds of people.

Up to now, authorities have traced more than 650 direct contacts and recorded 14 more infections relating to the cluster at An Hong.

Ha Tinh Province has allowed karaoke shops back to service from October 20, requiring businesses to operate with a maximum capacity of 50 percent and banning gatherings of more than ten people at a time, according to the provincial People's Committee.

Vietnam has registered 1,050,185 community transmissions in all its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth virus wave flared up on April 27, with over 23,300 deaths confirmed since.

Ha Tinh has logged 741 patients in this outbreak, including 14 announced on Wednesday.

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