Vietnam started to take particularly strong measures on managing arrivals on February 3 when Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered that all Vietnamese and foreigners entering the country from China must be quarantined for 14 days. The order applied to everyone who had passed by any of the 31 provinces in mainland China that had reported the novel coronavirus infection.

On February 25, when the virus began spreading far outside China, the PM barred entry for people arriving from all areas that had been hit by the new coronavirus, including those in South Korea, Italy, Japan and Iran.

In exclusive cases, people who had to enter Vietnam for state affairs or other special reasons have to complete health declaration procedures and then stay in quarantine for 14 days, he ordered.

This meant that people from countries stricken by Covid-19 but from cities and provinces free of the novel coronavirus did not have to be quarantined for 14 days. They only had to submit a health declaration and follow procedures deemed necessary on entering Vietnam.

Then on Monday, Vietnam decided to classify three more nations, South Korea, Iran and Italy, as epidemic-hit nations, apart from China. This means that all people entering Vietnam from any area of these three nations have to be quarantined for 14 days, and any Vietnamese citizen traveling to any of the four nations will be quarantined and monitored on their return.

Quarantine procedures

Local authorities at the port of entry will decide where a person will be quarantined and kept under medical observation. If a person develops any of the symptoms associated with the novel coronavirus infection, her/his body fluids will be tested and she/he will be moved to a hospital for further isolation and treatment in case test results are positive for the virus.

During their quarantine period, the person will be fed three meals a day and provided with other essential items needed for their daily life and routines.

Once doctors certify that the quarantined persons are free of the virus, they will be placed under additional monitoring at home or medical camps until doctors decide they can be discharged.

On Tuesday, the number of people suspected of the coronavirus infection in Vietnam dropped by 50 against Monday to 75. None of the suspects were reported in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, the three largest cities in the country.

The Health Ministry deems those returning from stricken areas or those who’ve had direct contact with returnees from stricken areas and/or those who show Covid-19 symptoms as novel coronavirus suspects.

As of Monday, Vietnam had either quarantined in field hospitals or placed under medical monitoring over 10,000 people.

While the nation has not detected any new infections since February 13, and has discharged all 16 who’d tested positive for the novel coronavirus earlier, the global death toll continues to climb as the epidemic crosses national barriers to hit 76 countries and territories so far.

3,130 have died of the Covid-19 infection so far. Mainland China has suffered the most deaths at 2,945, followed by Iran with 77, Italy with 52 and South Korea with 28. The U.S. has reported six deaths and Japan 12, including six on a cruise ship.