Vietnam will continue to tighten control over the arrival of foreign specialists to prevent the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from spreading among the community, the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control stated during a meeting in Hanoi on June 4.

Foreign specialists' arrival under scrutiny to avoid virus transmission 

Participants in the meeting noted that though the COVID-19 is now under control locally, the virus is evolving in a complex manner both regionally and globally. Simultaneously, more foreign specialists, business managers, and highly skilled workers are being granted permission to enter the country for different purposes, mostly to be involved in major investment projects.   

In total, over 1,800 experts have entered Vietnam over the past few weeks, and an addition 2,700 are expected to arrive over the coming weeks.  

The National Steering Committee has therefore proposed that relevant ministries, agencies, and localities strictly follow regulations relating to COVID-19 prevention and control. This will see all specialists undergo medical check-ups and be transferred to quarantine areas for a period of 14 days as soon as they land in the country. They will then be tested to see if they are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19. 

In relation to this policy, the Ministry of Health has been assigned with devising guidelines regarding the receipt of specialists who arrive for a short period of time for investment promotion or contract signing ceremonies. 

Meanwhile, military units have been tasked with receiving and quarantining all Laotian, Cambodian, and Chinese students entering Vietnam through roads, at specific dormitories. 

The country has reported 328 COVID-19 cases as of June 4, of which 302 have gone on to make a full recovery, accounting for 92% of the total. The remaining 26 patients are now receiving treatment at medical facilities nationwide, most of whom remain in stable health condition. 

Moreover, the British patient who was the most severe case in Vietnam has begun making a partial recovery. He has since been disconnected from the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation intervention device, a life support therapy, since June 3. 

Elsewhere, over 6.5 million people worldwide have been infected with the COVID-19, causing nearly 390,000 deaths in the process. Vietnam has so far reported no deaths caused by the COVID-19.