The old travel permits expire Sunday and new ones are needed for the September 6-21 period from the Hanoi police department after the papers have been processed by other agencies.

Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, director of Hanoi Co.opmart Supermarket, said the firm sent its travel permit application file to the municipal industry and trade department, but is yet to get a reply.

"Tomorrow our employees must have new travel permits. If not, it is very difficult for us because supermarkets cannot close for any days," she said.

According to Hanoi’s new Covid-19 prevention measures, to get new travel permits embedded with QR codes, enterprises operating in essential fields should send application files to relevant municipal departments that will scrutinize and forward them to the municipal traffic police bureau for approval.

Ha, who works for a food supplier in Hanoi, said her company engages in import and export, so without timely grant of travel permits, all of its activities will come to a halt.

Meanwhile, many other firms say they are confused by the term "operating in essential fields".

Viet, head of the human resources department of a vehicle component and part producer in Hanoi’s Thanh Tri District, said he does not know whether his firm is classified as operating in essential fields or not. He has asked the communal authorities and the industrial park management board for clarification, but they’ve just told the firm to await further instructions.

Many companies have complained that Hanoi keeps issuing regulations relating to travel permits frequently with "tight timing". The announcement about the latest requirement for travel permits came out on the occasion of the long weekend connected to the National Day (September 2), so firms struggled to learn the new rules and comply with them.

Hanoi has undergone several social distancing orders since late July. It has recorded nearly 3,800 infections in the ongoing outbreak that hit the nation late April.