Compulsory

The returnees would include 800 people who have been trapped in the city and many others who want to travel to Hanoi for different reasons.

Returnees from Danang city, the once epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam, to Hanoi will be tested for SARS-CoV-2 and undergo 14-day quarantine at home in accordance with regulations, Nhan Dan newspaper quoted Hoang Duc Hanh, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Health, as saying.

The decision was made as the Ministry of Transport has allowed the restoration of all passenger transport services to and from Danang.

Returnees from Danang city, the epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam, to Hanoi will be tested for SARS-CoV-2 and undergo a 14-day quarantine at home. Photo: Vtv.vn

According to the deputy director of the Hanoi Health Department, the returnees would include 800 people who have been trapped in the city and many others who want to travel to Hanoi for different reasons.

Hanh said he believed that the Covid-19 pandemic in Hanoi has been controlled. However, with the full restoration of travel between the capital city and other provinces, the risk of new Covid-19 cases still imminent.

During home isolation, people must immediately go to medical facilities to be tested when they show symptoms such as fatigue, pain, and fever.

People need to self-monitor their health, take preventive measures for Covid-19 under the health sector’s guidance, limit close contact and avoid going to crowded places or participate in unnecessary events.

Additionally, people should keep track of their travels and contacts and should report to the local health center or the nearest hospital if they suspect someone is infected.

In the second phase of the Covid-19 pandemic in Vietnam, Hanoi had screened more than 8,000 people returning from Danang city and detected three cases that were positive for SARS-CoV-2.

As of September 8, Vietnam has gone six consecutive days without a single community transmission case  while the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the three hardest hit localities, namely Danang, neighboring Quang Nam province and the northern province of Hai Duong, has been put under control.

At the time of writing, the nation’s Covid-19 caseload now stands at 1,049, with 157 active cases and 854 recoveries. The country has reported 35 deaths due to the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Health.

Travel firms and tourism experts have suggested making COVID-19 insurance compulsory for all inbound and outbound travellers as one of the key requirements to welcome foreigners back to Vietnam.

Tourists row boats at Tien Dinh agro-ecological tourist area at Phu Thuan A Commune in Dong Thap province’s Hong Ngu District (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Travel firms and tourism experts have suggested making COVID-19 insurance compulsory for all inbound and outbound travellers as one of the key requirements to welcome foreigners back to Vietnam.

In a letter sent to then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposing the Government to open the market in a safe and sustainable manner, the Tourism Advisory Council (TAB) stated there should be a roadmap. Accordingly, it is necessary to have policies requiring COVID-19 ‘vaccine passports’ and testing tourists before flights and after arrival at tourist sites. Travel insurance, including medical insurance related to COVID-19, should be compulsory for all foreigners coming to Vietnam and Vietnamese tourists travelling abroad.

Vo Anh Tai, vice chairman of TAB and deputy director general of Saigontourist Group, said COVID-19-related insurance would ensure benefits and safety for both travellers, travel firms and local authorities in case of tour delays or cancellations.

The TAB suggested the Government and the Ministry of Finance to allow insurance companies in Vietnam to sell COVID-19 travel insurance products.

“Medical insurance programmes related to COVID-19 have been offered in some countries. It helps cover expenses on hospitalisation, examinations, treatment and medical care, and medical evacuation and repatriation,” Tai told Nguoi lao dong (The Labourer) newspaper.

He also said travel insurance can offset the cost if the trip is affected by the pandemic.

Hoang Nhan Chinh, Secretary General of TAB, said that the Law on Tourism required travel companies to buy insurance for tourists during the tours unless they already had insurance for the entire travel period. This insurance is paid to visitors when there are emergencies including illness and accident. However, he said, the tourism industry still did not have COVID-19 insurance, especially in the context of Vietnam considering opening the market to foreign visitors.

“COVID-19 related insurance will prove effective for visitors when they travel to a tourist destination that requires testing as they can pay first, then request the insurance agency to reimburse the cost,” he said.

In case the visitor was quarantined when travelling to a certain area due to an outbreak, the expense during the quarantine period was also covered by insurance, Chinh added.

Tourism is a key economic sector in Vietnam, contributing more than 10 percent of the country’s GDP and generated over 30 billion USD in annual revenue.

Results of a recent survey of Vietnamese tourists conducted by TAB about the willingness of tourists to purchase additional travel insurance packages during the high-risk disease period showed that 52 percent of respondents answered ‘Yes’. This reflected that they have a demand to purchase a COVID-19 insurance package.

Many businesses also believe that COVID-19-related insurance products are necessary as the tourism industry is implementing a roadmap to reopen to international visitors.

In fact, a few travel companies have been working with the insurance company to extend their terms of support to visitors in case of an unfortunate infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus while on tour and within 14 days after the tour ends.

The Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transport Joint Stock Company (Vietravel) is an example. There is a provision on COVID-19 in the travel insurance policy for  the company’s customers to enhance the interests of customers, said Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel.

She said that the most important thing right now was the policy that allowed travel companies to coordinate with insurance companies to deploy COVID-19 insurance products as in other countries.

“A ‘vaccine passport’, a certificate showing a person is negative for COVID-19 at the time of departure and COVID-19-related insurance are prerequisites for welcoming back foreign visitors and rapidly reviving the tourism industry,” Hoang said.

At the Government’s regular press conference held in late March, then Minister and Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said that some key tasks are to speed up research, development and testing of vaccines, as well as developing a plan to import vaccines for large-scale vaccination.

Early research and rolling out of a ‘vaccine passport’ mechanism to promote trade and investment should be a priority.

At the latest meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the Ministry of Health submitted initial proposals on the implementation of the ‘vaccine passport’, including the applicable target group, plan for monitoring, isolating, and medical monitoring.

According to experts, with mass vaccination programmes taking place in many countries, a number of countries have developed plans to open their markets to facilitate the travel of entrepreneurs, experts and tourists.

The Vietnamese Government and competent agencies should consider opening the market in a safe and sustainable manner in order not to lag behind.

Besides the COVID-19 vaccination programmes, many tourist businesses also proposed a more open visa policy to gain a competitive advantage in the region. For example, the proposed 30-day visa exemption policy should continue to be applied to existing countries that are exempt. Australia, New Zealand and remaining countries in Europe should also be included./.

Around 70.86 million medical face masks were shipped last December, a sharp decrease of 59% against the previous month.

In a year ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam exported a total of 1.37 billion medical face masks, according to the General Statistics Office.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) went on to say that around 30 companies in Vietnam exported medical face masks to the US, Europe, Singapore, and South Korea, among others.

Data: GDVC. Chart: Ngoc Thuy.

With 70.86 million medical face masks exported last December, down 59% against the previous month, Vietnam’s face masks export declined for the first time, following the rise in export turnover of such products in the previous three consecutive months.

After Vietnam’s effective containment of the Covid-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in May 2020 approved the export of medical face masks and protective gear after local companies met domestic demand and the country’s reserves.

However, the export turnover of face masks started declining in July after the Covid-19 pandemic was gradually contained in many countries. In the domestic market, demand for face masks also weakened as local people are more experienced in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since September, demand for face masks had sharply risen as countries around the world are struggling with a resurgence in Covid-19 infections, especially in Europe and the US. As such, many governments have made it compulsory for people to wear face masks.

Under the growing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, face mask production is considered a viable solution for garment companies in Vietnam to maintain operations and offset losses from lower demand for garments.

Last year, Vietnam’s textile and apparel exports are set to decrease by 10% from 2019 to US$35 billion, which in turn fell short of the apparel export target of $42 billion. This is the first decline for the garment sector after 25 years of steady rise.

Living “a life like Vietnamese people today is the dream of those from many countries,” according to a government official.

Vietnam has managed to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic at a low cost thanks to early action to fight it, VnExpress quoted Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam as saying at a National Assembly meeting in Hanoi on June 13.

Living “a life like Vietnamese people today is the dream of those from many countries,” Dam said, adding that while the number of infections and deaths from Covid-19 keeps increasing globally, Vietnam has gone 58 days in a row without new infection in the community.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam. Photo: quochoi.vn

“We have enjoyed this success because since the end of 2019, when the virus was not given even an official name, the Vietnamese government had consulted international organizations to map out a basic anti-epidemic plan in accordance with the principles and experience against infectious diseases,” said the Deputy PM.

He noted that Vietnam had taken a host of solutions which were earlier and stricter than recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). When the WHO initially warned of limited virus transmission, Vietnam considered it a highly infectious disease. Vietnam was also the first country to make health declarations compulsory for all people on entry.

“Many people doubted when the government introduced anti-epidemic measures, but these measures later proved to be timely, decisive and highly effective,” Dam stressed.

He attributed the initial success to the clear, firm and effective leadership of the Party and the State, as well as the participation of the entire political system, doctors, soldiers, police, other forces, and particularly the support of its people.

The Deputy PM also informed the National Assembly that all foreigners infected with the virus in Vietnam have been treated and most of them have fully recovered and exited hospital. The last foreign patient, the critically-ill British citizen, is recovering well after many days in coma thanks to concerted efforts by Vietnamese doctors.

“We are very fortunate that we did not have massive infections that would force us to choose who to save. But if we had faced such a situation, we would not have abandoned foreigners for only taking care of the Vietnamese,” Dam said.

He also warned Vietnam still faces many great risks as the novel coronavirus pandemic’s evolution remains complicated in the world. However, Vietnam does not choose to close its doors, but strive to realize the dual goal of epidemic prevention and economic recovery at the same time, the deputy PM confirmed.

As of June 14, Vietnam has recorded 334 cases and zero deaths. Of the patients, 323 have recovered and been discharged from hospital.