Ho Chi Minh City authorities are preparing to receive around 10,000 Vietnamese from COVID-19-affected countries.

Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong

According to Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong, among those, 300 Vietnamese students from the US are scheduled to repatriate on April 27.

After landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, the students will be sent to a local quarantine zone.

 Phong cited the information about two Vietnamese students from Japan who arrived at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh Province on April 22 who then tested positive for COVID-19 as a typical example of the need for the city’s agencies to be on high alert.

 "The pandemic remains problematic, which requires drastic prevention measures. Singapore is undergoing the COVID-19 outbreak and this is a great lesson for Vietnam,” Phong warned.

 Nguyen Huu Hung, the municipal Department of Health’s deputy director, said that HCM City National University's dormitory could now no longer be used as a quarantine area as students were expected to return soon. So, the city would need to find replacement quarantine areas.

 “It is the best to isolate each person in a separate room. We will try utmost to ensure this and offer the most favourable conditions for the quarantine,” Hung noted.

 HCM City has confirmed 54 COVID-19 cases so far, including 53 discharged from hospital. The last patient is a British pilot or Patient 91, who has tested negative for the virus but is still in serious condition.

 On April 24, a flight transporting 215 Vietnamese from Singapore landed at Can Tho International Airport in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho. They were then taken to a local quarantine zone. The passengers belong to the priority list such as children, the elderly and sick people.