Hanoi authorities requested to temporarily shut all street food and refreshment stalls and coffee shops from 0:00 on February 16.
However, on Wednesday, lots of street food stalls and coffee shops in Hanoi still ignored the ban such as those in Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh urban area. There, pavements were taken advantage of as food stalls.
A coffee shop in Thanh Xuan District was still open on Wednesday, attracting many customers who did not keep the safety distance of at least two metres among one another. Many also did not wear a face mask.
The same situation was also seen around Cau Giay Park area where many coffee shops blatantly operated.
However, the majority of coffee shops have temporarily served customers indirectly, offering delivery services such as the one on To Hieu Street.
Except for street food and refreshment stalls and coffee shops, restaurants in Hanoi are allowed to open but have to arrange seats to ensure a minimum distance of 2 metres or a one-metre distance when using shields.
A restaurant on Huynh Thuc Khang Street installed fields among tables to ensure the distance between customers.
