A view of Bai Truoc Beach in Vung Tau City, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. All beaches in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province have been closed as from today, June 1, due to the raging Covid-19 - PHOTO: PHAM VU

HCMC - All beaches in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province have been closed as from today, June 1, as neighboring HCMC is struggling with surging cases of Covid-19.

This is the second time the southern province, which is known for beatiful beaches in Vung Tau City and Long Hai Town, has closed all beaches to prevent the coronavirus from spreading to the province, after the first closure in late March 2020.

Besides the beach shutdown, the province has suspended bus and boat transport services from and to virus-hit cities and provinces, while cargo transport to Con Dao Island is still intact but safety measures must be strictly enforced. Local residents returning from HCMC are required to do health declarations.

Although Ba Ria-Vung Tau is a tourist attraction that attracts many visitors, especially from HCMC, the province has not reported any domestic Covid-19 infections linked to the most recent infection clusters in HCMC.

Some other popular tourist attractions such as Binh Thuan, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong and Thua Thien Hue have also suspended passenger transportation to and from HCMC.

The southern metropolis has recorded 157 domestic infections, with 142 of them linked to the Revival Ekklesia Mission, in the fourth Covid-19 wave which began on April 27.