Shop owners happy to be back after social distancing

Hằng thought distancing would continue for another  一0-to- 一 五 days, or maybe more.

"Though the distancing has eased, people are still worried about the virus and scared of making contact like we used to,"大众she said.

"Clients are keeping their distance in my shop, which is quite uncomfortable for both parties. Normally, I talk to my customers after they try on clothes to see if they like them.

"There is no way we can do that now. I'm sure I'd be able to sell more clothes if I could interact more with customers,公众said Hạnh.

"Business won't return to normal until people feel secure about their health and incomes,"大众she added.

Nguyễn Thi Oanh, the owner of Cafe Chất on Quán Thánh Street, said she had received calls "begging her to deliver coffee"大众from regular customers.

"I could have let them in to have a coffee but I didn't because I knew it was wrong,"大众she said.

"Now I am happy to see some of them again after social distancing. I've been preparing the coffee since yesterday as I knew there would be a lot of clients today,公众Oanh said.

Despite the weather, Oanh was still busy serving customers at the cafe and online.

"I should mention that we've rearranged the tables to follow distancing regulations,公众she added.

As the best known gold firm in the city, Bảo Tín Minh Châu made an announcement on its Facebook fan page on the evening of April  二 二 that it would open the following day.

The firm told its clients to continue following safety measures such as wearing face masks and using hand cleanser in the shops.

While clothing shops, cafes, restaurants and gold shops have been allowed to resume business, the city has not allowed bars, karaoke joints, massage parlours or video game shops to reopen. They will be closed until at least April  三0.

A coffee drinker at Oanh's cafe told Việt Nam News: "I just came here for a bit to feel like things are back to normal."

He added that he was proud of what Viet Nam had done so far, adding that although no new cases had been reported in the last seven days, safety must still be taken seriously. — VNS