Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam addresses the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control (Photo: VNA)

Chairing the meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Hanoi on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Dam said, “All repatriation flights must be quarantined and the post-quarantine period must be strictly monitored. As a new variant of the virus has emerged although there has been no official conclusion about it, we, with the spirit of vigilance, will prolong the quarantine period for people entering Vietnam, especially this winter.”

The National Steering Committee requested diplomatic agencies and the aviation industry to tighten passengers’ medical declaration. A passenger who does not fill in the medical declaration form will not be allowed onboard.

It also requested tighter control of people who illegally enter Vietnam via marine route. Local authorities were asked to disseminate information that people returning home from abroad must fill in medical declaration form and undergo quarantine according to regulations.

Vietnam reported five imported COVID-19 cases on Friday, raising the total number of infections to 1,536, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. Among the latest cases, four are Vietnamese citizens returning home from Canada and the US, and one is a US expert who entered the nation from the US after transiting in Singapore. All of whom were quarantined upon their arrival in the country. They are now undergoing medical surveillance as part of COVID-19 treatment at local hospitals.