HCMC – The government of Hanoi has scrapped the seven-day quarantine mandate earlier imposed on all passengers flying from HCMC to Hanoi, according to the capital city’s latest dispatch approved by vice chairman Nguyen Manh Quyen.
Quyen said in the dispatch that Hanoi agreed with the Transport Ministry on piloting the resumption of scheduled flights on the Hanoi-HCMC and Hanoi-Danang routes from October 10 to 20, with one daily round-trip flight operated on each route.
Air passengers who meet the Covid safety and travel requirements of the ministries of Transport and Health will only have to monitor their health at home and practice anti-Covid measures after their arrival in Hanoi, instead of having to undergo a seven-day mandatory isolation at either a designated hotel or a state-run quarantine center in Hanoi as previously required.
Hanoi requested the Transport Ministry to direct its subordinate agencies to closely coordinate with the authorities of Hanoi and the relevant localities to ensure Covid safety in organizing the sale of tickets, pick up and drop off of passengers.
The Hanoi health authority was tasked with receiving information about air passengers to serve Covid infection prevention and control, teaming up with the airport authorities and airlines to screen passengers for Covid and reporting it to the district authorities.
The municipal Health Department will give guidelines to the district authorities on managing and monitoring air passengers at their accommodations.
Earlier, on October 9, the Hanoi government issued a document asking air passengers from HCMC to Hanoi to undergo a seven-day paid quarantine even if they were fully inoculated or tested negative for Covid. The regulation caused public controversy.
In related news, Haiphong City and Thua Thien-Hue Province have also revoked the quarantine mandate for all those eligible to fly.
Nguyen Thanh Binh, vice chairman of the Thua Thien-Hue Province’s government, signed a dispatch today, October 12, giving anti-Covid guidelines for passengers traveling to and from this central province by air.
Passengers who meet the Transport Ministry’s requirements are allowed to travel to/from Thua Thien-Hue and have to monitor their health at home for seven days as required by the Health Ministry; or they should be sent to state-run quarantine centers for isolation in seven days if their accommodations do not meet the requirements.
In Haiphong, all passengers arriving at the Cat Bi International Airport on domestic flights and staying in this northern city will not be quarantined at state-run quarantine centers. For those flying from extremely high risk areas, they have to self-quarantine at home for seven days, take two Covid tests during the self-quarantine period.
Passengers returning from areas vulnerable to Covid or under the new normal should self-monitor their health for 14 days and take a PCR test on the seventh day of the quarantine. For those developing the symptoms of cough, fever, sore throat, shortness of breath, they must report to the local health authorities for support.
