In any circumstances, Vietnamese people entering the country through land border gates and undergoing quarantine in military establishments will be exempted from quarantine fees, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said on 15 January.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

At a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Dam, who is also head of the committee, noted that as of January 15, Viet Nam has recorded 1,536 COVID-19 cases, including 876 imported and 660 community infections.

Due to the appearance of new variants of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, Viet Nam has limited inbound flights, the Deputy PM said.

He underlined the need to extend the concentrated quarantine period to more than 14 days for those who entering Viet Nam from countries and territories that have reported new SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Besides, it is necessary to prevent illegal immigrants, while ensuring the strict implementation of quarantine regulations, Dam stressed.

A representative from the Ministry of Health said that the ministry has reviewed the receiving and sending of people to quarantine establishments, while guiding localities how to carry out the procedures. After taking concentrated quarantine, the quarantined people must spend 14 days on self-quarantine at home and restrict from contacting with others.

The Ministry of Health has also developed software to manage quarantined people, said the representative.

Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong suggested that more guidelines should be given to coastal provinces and cities, including Khanh Hoa and Da Nang, to effectively control immigrants to Viet Nam.

At the meeting, members of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control agreed on the need to continue applying long-term measures in the community, including the “5K message”, along with the acceleration of vaccine research and production.

Particularly, during the course of the upcoming 13^th National Party Congress and the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, COVID-19 prevention measures should be tightened, they said.

Source: VNA