Vietnam started piloting new quarantine regulation for international arrivals who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with the landing of nearly 300 people from Japan on Saturday afternoon.
The passengers, who have received two shots of COVID-19 vaccine, are required to undergo a seven-day quarantine period at a hotel following their arrival.
The flight marked the beginning of Vietnam’s pilot plan to shorten the mandatory quarantine period for fully vaccinated international arrivals.
Related: Covid-19: Vietnam reports 13,101 new cases, over 21 million people vaccinated
Van Don airport managers have intensified pandemic prevention and control measures to minimize the risk of transmission. According to Phan Ngoc Sau, director of the airport, a similar flight is expected to bring Vietnamese citizens from the U.S. to Van Don on September 12.
Passengers must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible for the new quarantine regulation. All of them must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with the final shot taken within the period of 14 days to 12 months before their entry.
They have to test negative for the Covid-19 via real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification methods within 72 hours prior to their arrival. The tests must be conducted by authorized facilities.
Van Don airport welcomed 45,872 passengers including Vietnamese citizens and foreign experts from January, 2021. All international arrivals requested to quarantine for 14 days and have their health monitored for another 14 days.
The Health ministry decided to shorten the quarantine period for international arrivals who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to seven days from August.
Also read: It’s official: Vietnam cuts quarantine time for vaccinated entrants to seven days
Vietnam closed its borders and canceled all international flights in March last year. Only Vietnamese repatriates, foreign experts, diplomats, investors, and highly-skilled workers have been allowed in since with stringent quarantine requirements.
September 05, Vietnam logged 13,101 new Covid-19 cases in 37 localities, taking the domestic tally in the ongoing wave to 520,014.
Over 21 million people have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine shots. Over 3 million are fully vaccinated.