The decision was made Wednesday after a bar at 33 Ma May Street in Hang Buom Ward violated the regulation earlier this month.

Hanoi last week announced it would shut down all bars, karaoke parlors and prohibit crowds from gathering effective from August 1.

But around 1 a.m. on August 1, police raiding popular hangouts around Hang Buom discovered 30 patrons still enjoying service at the Ma May joint.

Since Covid-19 community transmission returned to Vietnam on July 25, Hanoi has recorded three new cases, all related to current epicenter Da Nang.

Authorities have reported 95,000 returnees from Da Nang to Hanoi since July 1.

So far, rapid screening has confirmed 72,000 as negative, a figure Hanoi chairman Nguyen Duc Chung warned may be misleading since rapid test results are not completely trustworthy.

Similar restrictions to prevent community infection have been applied in HCMC, where eight locally transmitted cases were reported, also linked to Da Nang.

Vietnam has recorded 269 domestic infections since the virus resurfaced in the community.

As of Thursday the nation had reported 718 infections, including 327 active and 10 fatalities.