The announcement was made Thursday after the province, home to former imperial citadel Hue, organized for 865 people from HCMC and nearby localities to return to their hometown.

Thua Thien Hue authorities said the move came as centralized quarantine camps in the province have almost been fully occupied, which could help spread the virus.

The province has prepared facilities to quarantine more than 10,000 and for now, is hosting more than 8,000 in quarantine, mostly returnees from Covid-19 areas, including HCMC.

So far this week, the province has carried out plans to bring people back home from HCMC and nearby localities, with 239 returning via plane on July 26, 367 via train on July 29 and as scheduled, 250 more will return via plane Sunday.

Most of them are elderly people, children, and pregnant mothers.

The province said it is still opening its door to receive people returning on their own.

However, all returnees must be sent to quarantine zones, where they will stay for two weeks and be tested.

As Covid cases have kept rising in HCMC and nearby industrial provinces, thousands of Thua Thien Hue natives that work and live in those localities have decided to return home by themselves, either by motorbike or bus.

With too many returning at once, returnees have had to camp for hours at Covid-19 checkpoints before transferal to centralized quarantine.

The province has recorded 34 community cases in the wave that broke out in late April, with more than 20 having returned from HCMC.