Vinh City: 'Responding' to the epidemic situation, many street-front businesses change jobs

According to Resolution 128 of the Government and Official Dispatch No. 3896 ofPeople's Committee of Nghe An province, businesses providing services with a high risk of infection such as beauty salons, massage parlors, dance clubs, karaoke bars, internet cafes, video games... must stop operating at levels 2, 3, 4. After more than a year of continuous closure due to the pandemic, many businesses providing these services are now forced to change jobs and find new directions to adapt.

KN karaoke bar on Nguyen Van Cu street had to liquidate the entire store after 1 year of temporary closure due to the pandemic. Photo: QA

Since the beginning of the week, the owner of KN karaoke bar on the streetNguyen Van Cu, Vinh City, had to hire people to dismantle all the speakers, singing system, tables and chairs for liquidation... after more than 10 years of operation.

The game shop on Nguyen Duy Trinh street, Hung Dung ward had to liquidate dozens of computers and switch to selling other products. Photo: QA

It is known that in early 2021, this business owner invested nearly 3 billion VND to renovate and upgrade the karaoke room, but as soon as it was completed, the epidemic broke out, so he could not recover the capital. "In fact, if we reopen now, when the epidemic is so tense, I expect there will be no customers, so my family agreed to change jobs as soon as possible. If the room is not used for a long time, the machines will be damaged, and the cheaper the price, the more loss...." the Karaoke shop owner revealed.

Electronic game services and public internet are also always among the top services with high risk of infection that must stop operating.Nguyen Duy Trinhis one of the streets with many video game shops in Vinh City. According to the reporter's records, up to this point, the game shops have also stopped doing business and switched to other industries to maintain their lives.

The owner of the HT game shop on Nguyen Duy Trinh Street said that his family has been in the business for many years, but now they cannot continue with the business because the service has to be temporarily suspended. The shop owner had to liquidate dozens of computers at cheap prices to get capital to invest in selling local wines. Although income has decreased, it is the only way to be able to earn a living during the epidemic season.

Another game shop in Hung Dung ward has switched to selling hardware and electrical products. Photo: QA

Another game shop opposite HT game shop also removed all old game advertising signs, replacing them with new signs to announce the switch to selling hardware and water products in the hope that business will be favorable, making up for a year of lost revenue due to the epidemic.

Similar to the above industries, the food service industry has also gone through a difficult year due to the pandemic. During Directives 15 and 16, food service operations had to temporarily stop. When switching to Resolution 128 of the Government, on-site food service operations were only allowed to operate at levels 1, 2, 3 and temporarily stopped at level 4. The continuous suspension of business in the past time has also caused many establishments to change jobs.

For example, on Phan Dang Luu Street - a famous beer street in Vinh City, some beer shops have now switched to breakfast or photocopy shops. According to these businesses, although they are allowed to reopen, the Covid - 19 epidemic is still complicated, so the number of customers is not much, and business is almost unprofitable. Therefore, switching to other jobs is an inevitable but necessary thing to do to have income.

The beer house on Phan Dang Luu Street has now switched to photocopying services because it cannot survive with its old profession. Photo: QA

It can be seen that, although the new normal has been entered, the business of Nghe An people in general and Vinh City in particular still faces many difficulties. Changing jobs and changing business models is inevitable. At the same time, businesses also want to accompany and share in this difficult period, especially in the issue of extending loans, rental fees... to be able to recover after the pandemic.