Ministry of Health guides temporary supervision of foreign entries

Passengers wait to handle boarding procedures at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - A document providing temporary guidance to monitor people entering Vietnam to ensure the dual goal of both preventing the COVID-19 pandemic and developing the economy has been issued.

Under the Ministry of Health (MoH)’s Document No 4995/BYT-DP, the guidance is applicable to people entering Vietnam to work for more than 14 days, including foreigners holding diplomatic passports, official passports, investors, highly skilled workers, business managers, international students and foreign relatives of Vietnamese citizens from countries where the pandemic is under control.

Before entry, immigrants must register with a quarantine centre and outline their specific work schedule in Vietnam. They must also have a certificate in English proving they had tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 from three to five days before entry.

On entry, immigrants must have their temperatures checked and undergo tests to detect suspected cases of disease. When suspected cases are detected, they must take prescribed management measures. In case rapid testing is not available at the border gate, they must move to a registered quarantine centre and ensure they follow safety regulations under the guidance of the MoH.

Whilst they are in quarantine, the immigrants will undergo tests for SARS-CoV-2. If their first results are negative, they will be kept in quarantine under medical supervision until their second tests. All cases are to be tested for a second time on the sixth day from their date of entry, or as soon as symptoms are suspected. If there is a positive test result, the person will be immediately quarantined at a medical facility and follow treatment according to the current regulations for COVID-19. People who have close contact with confirmed patients must be quarantined for 14 days.

If the second test result is negative, they will be allowed to go home to self-isolate for 14 days and take preventive measures following guidance from the MoH.

At the accommodation, immigrants must strictly implement measures for medical supervision, pandemic prevention, avoid contact with the community and immediately notify health authorities if they show symptoms of the disease. They must also make a list of names and phone numbers of people they come into close contact with until the end of the 14th day. Local health authorities will perform medical surveillance according to regulations and take samples for SARS-CoV-2 virus on the 14th day of entry or when there are symptoms of the illness.