Hanoi’s first of four wholesale markets have been allowed to resume operations Friday after nearly a month of closure due to social distancing. 

The Southern Wholesale Market in the capital’s Hoang Mai District reopened at midnight Friday with around 250 vendors, half the usual total.

Trucks are required to carry QR codes providing their details and must be disinfected before entering the market.

Vendors are required to test Covid-19 negative in the last seven days and to have received at least one vaccine dose. They will be tested regularly in the market.

Each vendor has a personal QR code and can only enter if this code matches his or her identity. 

Stalls are required to have transparent screens to prevent contagion.

Only essential goods are allowed. Fruits and vegetables are mostly sourced from suburban districts and neighboring provinces. 

“In nearly a month of market closure farmers have been feeding their vegetables to animals and fish,” said vendor Dang Dinh Binh from Chuong My District.

Around 150-200 tonnes of fruits from the south will arrive each day. The market opens from midnight to 11 a.m. daily.

Most trucks carry mangosteens, durian and grapefruit.

Residents with shopping coupons are allowed to enter the market.

Wholesale buyers need to have approval from the market where they plan to trade their products.

“We have been longing for the day to return to work,” said Lam, a loader and breadwinner of his family. He has been out of work for nearly a month. Lam makes around VND300,000-500,000 ($13.14-21.90) per night.

The market was closed on July 27 after an egg vendor tested Covid-19 positive. The other wholesale markets in the Hanoi districts of Long Bien, Nam Tu Liem and Bac Tu Liem remain closed.

The capital has 459 markets.