The Lao government is taking precautions against the acute respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) to ensure the safety of regional leaders scheduled to visit Laos for upcoming summits, reported Vientiane Times newspaper.

Passengers undergo temperature checks at a border gate in Laos (Photo: VNA)

Laos is scheduled to host four regional summits at the end of March, including the 3rd Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Summit; the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS); the 10th Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) summit; and the 11th Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam (CLV) Summit.

Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Health on February 26, Lao Deputy Health Minister Assoc. Prof. Dr Phouthone Moungpak said a taskforce had been formed to take charge of disease prevention and control, working on a detailed plan for special prevention measures during the summits.

Lao health authorities have now imposed quarantine measures on visitors from all epidemic countries, rather than just those arriving from China as before, Assoc. Prof. Dr Phouthone said.

People travelling from outbreak zones will be quarantined and followed up for a period of 14 days.

Health authorities have told tour operators to suspend package tours to cities where the outbreak has been reported, notably those in the Republic of Korea (RoK), after the rapid spread of the virus there.

Laos, which has no confirmed COVID-19 case so far, earlier this month successfully hosted the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on measures to control COVID-19 outbreak, and the 5th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

(Source: VNA)