National steer

The Hanoitimes – However, as South Korean passengers have now cancelled air bookings to Vietnam, airlines are reducing flight frequency to South Korea.

Despite the complicated situation of Covid-19 outbreak in South Korea, the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport (MoT) has not considered suspending flights between Vietnam and South Korea, according to Le Anh Tuan, vice minister of transport.

Illustrative photo.

However, as a large number of South Korean passengers have cancelled air bookings to Vietnam, airlines are reducing flight frequency to South Korea, said Tuan in an interview with Vietnam News Agency on February 23.

Without passengers, most airlines have suspended flight routes from Vietnam to Daegu, the epicenter of the outbreak, while only Vietjet Air flies to Daegu at the moment, Tuan added.

According to Tuan, the MoT is closely monitoring the situation of the epidemic in Daegu and has sought the instruction from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

On February 21, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) released a statement refuting rumor that all flights between Vietnam and South Korea and Vietnam and Japan have been suspended.

The CAAV urged the public to update information from official websites of related government agencies.

As of present, the CAAV has only stopped flights between Vietnam and China as requested by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Amid the surging cases of Covid-19 infections in South Korea, the Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Vietnamese citizens in South Korea to refrain from going to high risk areas and strictly follow guidance of local authorities to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

The Hanoitimes – Vietnamese high-ranking officials said though the country has not closed the border with China, it has been taking measures of equivalent seriousness.

Vietnam has decided to stop issuing visas to all Chinese tourists, except for official and diplomatic passport holders, with an aim to curb the spread of a new coronavirus (nCoV) which broke out from China’s Wuhan city in December 2019.

The decision was made during a governmental meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 30, local media reported.

Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the government meeting on Jan. 30. Photo: VGP

PM Phuc required the suspension of tours to and from China while airlines are requested to stop flights from and to epidemic-stricken areas.

Accordingly, authorities need to stop sending Vietnamese workers to China while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should get ready to evacuate citizens out of China if necessary.

The PM also asked the National Steering Committee on nCoV prevention to closely work with local authorities to keep an eye on the nCoV, saying that banning the travelling of residents in border-to-border trails must be made.

Regarding the closure of borders with China, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh said at the meeting that Vietnam can close the borders if necessary. But the closure must meet provisions in an agreement signed with China on closing borders in cases of security or epidemic, Minh added.

However, Minh suggested a number of tough measures including banning the tourist flow between the two countries; temporary suspension of goods customs clearance until February 10; sharing and supporting ASEAN members; boosting the production of medical equipment namely masks and protective clothes; and disseminating information of the epidemic.

Nguyen Thanh Long, deputy head of the Central Propaganda and Training Commission, who was a deputy health minister, said though the border closure was not made, Vietnam can totally take tough measures namely stopping the reception of Chinese tourists and banning tours to China and banning the crossing of Vietnamese citizens at borders with China.

Meanwhile, a large number of local netizens have called for the closure of borders with China.

The senior officials expressed concerns about the epidemic and the possible long spread after Chinese health experts estimated that the contagion might last for two or three months or longer.

The WHO has declared that the China coronavirus a global health emergency as the death toll has surpassed 200.

On January 27, the first community COVID-19 case in Hai Duong province’s Chi Linh City was detected – Patient 1,552 – a worker in close contact with a woman who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after arriving in Japan.

According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Chi Linh city was the largest outbreak in the country since the pandemic began early last year with 383 confirmed cases out of 684 cases reported in Hai Duong province.

The outbreak started at a company with more than 2,300 workers and then spread to the community, which caused difficulties in controlling the infections.

As the outbreak was gradually controlled, Hai Duong province’s authorities decided to end the lockdowns and province-wide social distancing, entering a “new normal” phase with twin tasks of drastically fighting the coronavirus and taking action for socio-economic development.

Secretary of the Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee Pham Xuan Thang applauded efforts made by authorities, health experts and people in fighting the pandemic, particularly contributions of people on the front lines.

Besides lifting the lockdown in Chi Linh city and Cam Giang district and the end of province-wide social distancing, the Hai Duong Province People’s Committee on March 2 decided to divide the localities in the province into two groups under different restrictions depending on the COVID-19 risks.

Until March 17, four high-risk localities, including Hai Duong city, Kinh Mon township, Cam Giang district and Kim Thanh, will be placed under the Government’s Directive 15, the highest level of social distancing first introduced in March last year when the country entered nationwide lockdown. The directive prescribes limiting large gatherings, meetings with over 20 people in-doors or 10 people outdoors, maintaining two meters distance between individuals in public places, non-essential services are shut down, public passenger transport is halted, and travel is heavily restricted.

The remaining eight localities in the province will follow the less restrictive Government’s Directive 19 on social distancing norms.

Hai Duong will continue to halt festivals, religious rituals, sporting events and other unimportant events that require large gatherings in public.

Hai Duong now has about 11,000 such teams with the participation of about 25,000 members.

Then, authorities need to assess the connection between the other areas and the areas where outbreaks happened.

Each locality in the province should also review their preventive measures and strictly follow the Health Ministry’s ‘5K’ message as the pandemic was still developing worldwide. Provinces with industrial zones like Hai Duong were always more vulnerable to disease risks.

Source: VNA