Guidance on the implementation of quarantine and medical precautions for individuals arriving in Vietnam from regions affected by COVID-19
On Feb 28-29, 2020, the National Steering Committee for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19 and the Ministry of Health of Vietnam issued Documents No. 953/CV-BCD and No. 991/BYT-DP with updated guidance on the implementation of quarantine and medical precautions for individuals arriving in Vietnam from regions affected by COVID-19. Detais are as follows:
1. All travelers arriving in Vietnam from regions currently affected by COVID-19 (China, South Korea, Italy, Iran) will be required to submit a health declaration and subjected to quarantine in accordance with guidelines stipulated by the Ministry of Health.
2. Arrangements to receive and carry out medical screening for travelers arriving from regions currently affected by COVID-19 will be as follows:
- All travelers arriving from regions currently affected by COVID-19 will be required to submit a health declaration and subjected to medical quarantine at the point of entry into Vietnam;
- All individuals with symptoms of fever, coughing, difficult breathing shall be immediately transferred to suitable medical facilities for quarantine and testing as required by the Ministry of Health;
- At centralized quarantine facilities, based on health declaration (paper or electronic version) and additional medical examination, interviews will be conducted to categorize and identify cases to apply appropriate forms of quarantine.
- The determination of each traveler's residential address in regions affected by COVID-19 will be verified based on information provided by their family members or business partner(s) in Vietnam. All travelers will be committed to undertake health surveillance at their place of stay in Vietnam as instructed by the Ministry of Health.
3. All travelers arriving from regions affected by COVID-19 will be subjected to quarantine as follows:
- Travelers coming from or passing through regions affected by COVID-19 or having had close contact with individuals with suspected symptoms (fever, coughing, difficult breathing) will be subjected to centralized quarantine;
- Travelers coming from or passing through regions NOT affected by COVID-19 will be requested to undertake personal pre-emptive measures and self-monitoring of their health condition at their workplace or residence in Vietnam; if symptoms of fever, coughing, difficult breathing occur, the individual should contact local medical facilities for further examination and testing;
- For foreign travelers arriving in Vietnam for official purposes, the implementation of surveillance, health examination and quarantine shall be in accordance with guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health.
4. Upon completion of the screening process, for those who are not subjected to centralized quarantine, the Department of Health of the particular locality where initial quarantine is undertaken shall forward each individual's details to local authorities to follow up with and monitor further self quarantine at their place of residende for a 14-day period./.
