Public buses at the Mien Tay (Western) Bus Station in HCM City. All public transport in the city has been suspended for 15 days from July 9. (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City has suspended public transportfor 15 days from July 9 to contain the spread of COVID-19.
All public buses, taxis, inter-provincial buses, contract taxis, andride-hailing cars and motorbikes will go off the roads.
But vehicles used to transport goods and materials for production and food andother basic necessities, and shuttle buses that carry workers and experts areallowed to ply.
But they can only carry half their designed capacity and no more than 20passengers at a time, and must be disinfected each time before picking up andafter dropping off people.
All passengers must wear a face mask at all times and keep a minimum distanceof two metres from others.
They must fill out a health declaration form and have their body temperaturemeasures before boarding.
City authorities will work with neighbouring provinces to secure permission forvehicles carrying goods and workers to pass.
A fixed number of taxis have been arranged to carry people to hospitals andhealth centres.
They have been instructed to keep their windows down and not use airconditioners.
Shipping goods by motorbike is allowed but the delivery people are required towear masks, frequently wash their hands with sanitiser and keep a safe distancefrom customers.
The city has also decided to shut all inland ports and ferry services alongrivers for the 15 days, except the ferries between Nha Be and Can Gio districts,HCM City and Dong Nai province, Can Gio and Can Giuo in Long An province, and CanThanh and Thanh An and Thanh An and Thieng Lieng in Can Gio.
But those in operation can only carry 50 percent of their capacity and have tobe equipped with disinfectants.
Passengers must wear masks and maintain social distance.
Traffic police and other inspectors will closely monitor the ferry services.
The city made its earlier lockdown more stringent from July 9 under Directive16 as COVID-19 showed no signs of slowing down.
Since May 31 it had social distancing under Directive No 15, which included theclosure of non-essential services and businesses, but there continued to behundreds of new infections daily./.
VNA
