Vietnam’s tourism sector active in controlling 2019-nCoV spread

Passengers at Noi Bai international airport (Photo: VNA)

VNAT Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh on February 2 sent a letter to international business partners and friends to inform them on the measures to curb the epidemic taken by the Government and all sectors of Vietnam, including the tourism sector.

He said immediately after China announced the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV outbreak and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the Vietnamese Government, the health and tourism sectors as well as all related State agencies have actively took part in responding to the emergency situation and promptly applied a series of measures to minimize the risks.

Vietnam has set up a national steering committee for nCoV epidemic prevention and control along with 45 rapid response teams. All border gates have been put under strict monitoring, and all suspected cases are being isolated and treated in hospitals.

The VNAT has issued alerts on the epidemic and guidance on preventive measures to the tourism sector nationwide in order to ensure safety for all visitors. The administration also set up a special page on its website at http://vietnamtourism.gov.vn to provide update information on the epidemic.

The VNAT chairman said with extensive experience in dealing with such epidemics as SARS, MERS in the past, Vietnam has a good health monitoring system to control the nCoV epidemic. He noted that two Chinese citizens infected with the virus had been cured in Vietnam and the situation is well controlled.

“The VNAT believes the epidemic will soon be contained and tourism and community activities will return to normal,” Khanh said in the letter.