HCMC supermarket and convenience store staff are now exempt from nightime restrictions

Police officers at a Covid-19 checkpoint stop vehicles in HCMC's Go Vap District, July 26, 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Minh.

Supermarket and convenience store employees in HCMC are now exempt from the ongoing nighttime (6 p.m.-6 a.m.) restrictions, authorities said Monday.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People's Committee, announced the decision following a proposal made by the Department of Industry and Trade to let stores have more time to prepare goods and disinfect business sites.

The department has been requested to cooperate with relevant authorities to list the employees and update information onto a database.

To avoid any checkpoint issues, directors of supermarkets and convenience stores would give their employees approval documents so they can be out on the streets from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Ho Chi Minh City has been implementing a social distancing order since July 9. Starting July 26, people must also stay home from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next day, except for certain cases like medical emergencies.

On August 3, the city allowed certain postal services to let their vehicles move out at night to minimize disruption of public and essential services.

Naturally this exemption alllows the stores to re stock to avoid empty shelves, which could create another wave of panic buying.

The southern city has recorded 124,153 local Covid-19 cases since the fourth coronavirus wave hit Vietnam late April and is the current epicenter of the pandemic.