Prime Minister agrees to reopen karaoke services

On the morning of June 9, at the Government Standing Committee meeting on Covid-19 prevention, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that Vietnam's top priority is to ensure safety for sustainable development in the new normal state; ready to prepare for opening up for integration. However, he requested that all levels and sectors must not be negligent or subjective, especially in border areas, roads, sea routes, aviation, and border gates.

Agreeing with the proposals at the meeting to allow the reopening of dance clubs and karaoke services, the Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies to control violations of the law at these establishments, especially drug trafficking and use.

The Government leader assigned the National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control to announce safe areas to reopen flights to areas where no Covid-19 cases have been detected in the past 30 days.

"We cannot close completely, but we cannot open up too quickly without determining the safety level of each country," he said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Photo: VGP

The Prime Minister agreed to facilitate foreign experts and investors to enter Vietnam, including skilled workers, to seek investment and work opportunities. However, he noted that there must be a transit point between domestic and international destinations. Therefore, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Transport to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to propose suitable routes and flights. Localities will arrange quarantine locations, organize receptions, and test entrants.

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health shall consider collecting quarantine fees, especially treatment fees, and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision. The proposal for quarantine and treatment with fees must be studied for appropriate and strict application, saving the budget, and not causing inconvenience to the people.

For Vietnamese businessmen, students, the elderly... who want to return home but have not been able to, the Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to set out specific criteria and open a registration channel for people, including Vietnamese and foreign experts. The Ministry of Transport directed the aviation industry to organize and increase the frequency of flights to bring these people home in a humanitarian spirit and create favorable conditions.

Previously, at the Government Standing Committee meeting on May 7, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed to reopen non-essential business services, except for dance clubs and karaoke bars.

As of the afternoon of June 9, Vietnam has gone 54 consecutive days without recording any new cases of nCoV infection in the community. Of the 332 people infected with nCoV, 316 have been cured; 16 are currently undergoing treatment.