The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on January 29 asked tourism sectors of localities nationwide to pay special heed to well controlling and keeping close watch on the acute respiratory disease caused by a new coronavirus originated from Wuhan, China (2019-nCoV).

A health worker is delivering leaflets on nCoV to visitors to
Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province. (Photo: VNA)

In an urgent telegram issued on the same day, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien requested authorities of provinces and cities across the country to direct local tourism departments and grassroots authorities to do this work effectively.

The telegram said localities need to ask international travel businesses to suspend tours for visitors from localities that reported cases of nCoV, and do not bring tourists from affected areas in China into Vietnam.

Synchronous management measures should be devised to closely monitor  health situation of Chinese tourists who are on their tours of Vietnam and their schedule, it stressed.

Travel agencies, accommodation establishments and tourism services providers must do their best to ensure absolute safety for tourists and their tourism workers, the telegram said.

It noted that if any case of suspected infection is detected, they need to actively coordinate with local medical establishments to carry out quarantine measures in line with instructions by the Ministry of Health,

Communication campaigns should be launched to warn people not to travel to areas affected by the epidemic, it added.