The Ministry of Transport has ordered the suspension of all passenger and cargo flights from/to the northern border province of Quang Ninh, where COVID-19 cases were recently detected in the community.

Van Don Airport in Quang Ninh province (Photo: VNA)

In addition, authorities of Quang Ninh and its neighbouring Hai Duong province are asked to decide on the halt, delay and adjustment of the frequency of intra- and inter-provincial passenger road transport in accordance with the real situation, except for official purposes and necessary cases.

The flow of private vehicles is also requested to be minimised, while the transportation of goods and materials must be maintained.

They are also ordered to re-schedule the frequency of waterway transport. Meanwhile, inter-provincial passenger trains will not stop at stations in the two provinces to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The order, however, does not apply to cargo transport trains.

The halt of flights and passenger trains to Quang Ninh started from 12 pm on January 28 until further notice.

After almost two months without any locally transmitted cases, a new surge of positive patients emerged in northern Viet Nam on January 28.

Hai Duong’s Chi Linh city, home to more than 200,000 people, has been locked down and flights in and out of Quang Ninh’s Van Don International Airport were suspended.

To date, Viet Nam has reported 1,651 infections, including 786 locally-transmitted cases.

Source: VNA