A deliveryman carries goods at a field hospital in HCMC's Thu Duc City.
Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen

HCMC will lift the ban on inter-district delivery services on Thursday, its People's Committee has said.

Le Hoa Binh, the city deputy chairman, said the resumption is to help with people's demand for goods as social distancing under Directive 16 is extended until the end of September.

Since July delivery people were not allowed to cross district borders and could only work in certain districts as authorities sought to contain Covid-19.

Late last month they were allowed to resume deliveries in eight districts earlier considered high-risk.

Delivery companies quickly increased the number of shippers to around 25,000, helping meet the public’s demands to shop from home.

An average delivery person could handle 20-25 orders a day, meaning 25,000 of them could serve 650,000 families, the city Department of Industry and Trade said.

Ho Chi Minh City, epicenter of the fourth coronavirus wave, has recorded 303,475 Covid cases.

It has undergone a series of social distancing orders.

With strict coronavirus control measures like not allowing people to go out and relying instead on the military and local authorities to deliver food and other necessities to houses, delivery demand has been on the rise.

Starting September 7 the city has also allowed food and beverage businesses to resume operations, though they can only take delivery orders.