On Wednesday, a group from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, led by Deputy Health Minister Mr Nguyen Thanh Long, paid an inspection visit to Da Nang International Airport to check its measures aimed at preventing an Ebola outbreak.

Having inspected the airport’s passenger terminals, including its domestic and international waiting areas, Deputy Minister Long spoke highly of the preparations and procedures at the airport, and in the city as a whole.  The focus has been on tightening trans-border medical quarantine procedures at the airport in order to promptly detect any arriving passengers suspected of carrying the Ebola disease.

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long (third right) at the airport

The Deputy Minister also stressed the need for the municipal Department of Health to ensure sufficient supplies of antiseptic solution at the airport.  Importance is also being attached to conducting regular information exchanges on Ebola-related issues, as well as improving the professional skills of the staff members at the city’s Centre for International Health Quarantine.

There are now a minimum of 70 flights in and out of the airport every day, but this figure often increases to 150 per day at peak times.  Around 25% of these are international flights, which bring more challenges to the airport’s inspection staff who are involved in health quarantine activities.