Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of HCMC Department of Industry and Trade said Monday that market operators have to control and guide the flow of vendors and shoppers to maintain Covid safety rules like wearing masks, sanitizing hands, maintaining sufficient distance, avoiding gatherings and making health declarations when needed.

Vendors and customers have to maintain as little contact as possible during transactions, and prices should remain steady. Items permitted to be sold in the markets will include meat, seafood, vegetables and fruits.

Markets that cannot meet standards for Covid-19 prevention at their current location can use alternate spaces to ensure that safety for both vendors and market goers.

According to HCMC Department of Industry and Trade, 46 markets were operating and 191 closed, as of Sunday.

The city, home to 13 million people, is now the most infected locality in the country with nearly 36,000 local cases recorded in the ongoing Covid-19 wave that hit Vietnam on April 27.