An airport security personnel performs body temperature
check on a flight attendant at the Noi Bai International
Airport in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Ba Do. 

Hanoi’s Noi Bai airport has requested Covid-19 tests for all 3,200 employees after 16 came into close contact with confirmed cases. 

To Tu Ha, the airport’s acting director, said Tuesday that the request has been sent to the Ministry of Health and the Hanoi Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.

Besides the 16 employees who have come into close contact with coronavirus cases, hundreds who’ve had indirect contact have self-isolated themselves, he said.

The Covid-19 tests for airport employees are urgent and necessary to ensure safety of and confidence among passengers, he said. However, as of Tuesday afternoon, the higher authorities had not responded, he added.

The request comes as travel demand is expected to increase ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which peaks on February 12.

Since January 28, when the latest Covid-19 outbreak began in Vietnam, the airport has insisted that all employees wear masks at work, and allow those who'd traveled through outbreak areas to self-isolate at home. The airport has also provided protective equipment for workers who interact directly with customers.

It has also re-scheduled flights to ensure social distancing while checking in, passing through security checks and waiting at terminals. The airport regularly advises people to medically report themselves, wear masks and disinfect their hands every 30 minutes.

In HCMC, the Tan Son Nhat Airport has been performing Covid-19 tests on all its staff after the southern metropolis recorded its first coronavirus case under the new wave last Saturday. The testing is expected to last until Feb. 7.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Health Ministry has confirmed 276 local transmissions in 10 Vietnam cities and provinces. A U.K. coronavirus variant, believed to be up to 70 percent more transmissible than ordinary strains, is said to be responsible for the latest outbreak.

Hanoi has recorded 20 community cases.