Authorities in the central province of Thua Thien Hue have moved to temporarily put four Chinese and two Vietnamese nationals into isolation at the provincial Military School in a bid to prevent the potential spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.

The move comes after a member of the public tipped authorities off about a vehicle carrying four Chinese nationals passing through Phu Thuong commune in Phu Vang district on March 4. In response to this, a response team of the Phu Vang district’s Medical Center successfully stopped the vehicle at 21:40.

After conducting a thorough examination of each of the individuals in the car, the response team discovered that only one of the four held a passport, with none of the group showing signs of a cough, fever, or shortness of breath.

Following this, the group were taken to the concentrated quarantine area located in the Military School of Thua Thien Hue province at 23:30. 

Phan Ngoc Tho, Chairman of the Thua Thien Hue People's Committee, said the province has exerted great efforts in an attempt to prevent the potential spread of the epidemic, with no cases of the COVID-19 so far being detected in the locality. 

Aside from prevention activities being enforced to protect the health of local people, the province’s tourism sector has deployed a range of solutions aimed at improving service quality whilst also launching stimulus packages to promote Hue as a safe and friendly destination, Tho noted.