As requested by the municipal Health Department, whenever customers visit stores to buy drugs for Covid-like symptoms, pharmacists have to guide them to complete health declaration forms, either on the website tokhaiyte.vn or the two mobile apps, NCOVI, which is in Vietnamese, and Vietnam Health Declaration, in English.

"This request is to serve the early detection of Covid-19 suspects in the community given the complicated development of the new Covid-19 wave in Vietnam," said Nguyen Hoai Nam, the department's deputy head.

"The city will strictly handle any pharmacies that fail to follow this protocol and let Covid-19 spread in the community due to their failure."

Aside from this regulation, all drugstores have to immediately report to higher authorities via hotlines whenever they detect customers who could have contracted Covid-19.

The fourth Covid-19 wave that broke out in Vietnam on April 27 has spread to 27 cities and provinces, with 1,340 patients recorded.

Ho Chi Minh City has registered just one infection but officials are still concerned about a possible spread since the city is the nation's biggest economic hub and visited by many people from different localities.