HCMC – The provincial government of Kien Giang decided not to endorse the suspension of domestic flights to Phu Quoc Island as previously suggested by the island city’s authorities, said a local official.
The provincial government on June 9 chaired a working session with departments, the government of Phu Quoc City, representatives of the Kien Giang Maritime Administration, the Southern Airports Authority and four local carriers that operate flights to Phu Quoc.
Nguyen Luu Trung, chairman of the provincial government, told Thanh Nien newspaper that the province made the decision after evaluating the Covid-19 development in the region, reviewing efforts to fight the disease over the past period, collecting feedback from the relevant agencies, as well as following the anti-virus guidelines of the Government and the Ministry of Health.
The Mekong Delta province will continue to tighten control over people entering Phu Quoc by air and by sea, ensuring that no virus-hit individuals from other localities spread the disease to residents of the island.
Air passengers visiting Phu Quoc have to show a negative Covid-19 test certificate conducted 24 hours prior to their departure. Or else, local competent forces will perform a Covid-19 test for the passengers and the latter will have to cover the testing fees.
As for air passengers coming from areas under lockdown in line with the prime minister’s Directive 16, they will be subject to a 21-day mandatory quarantine period.
Passengers traveling to the island by sea are required to make health declarations and scan the QR code at wharves to check in. The Kien Giang Maritime Administration was told to ask the operators of ships and ferries to collect adequate and accurate information from passengers when tickets are sold to them.
Earlier, the government of Phu Quoc Island on June 4 had written to the provincial government proposing the suspension of domestic flights, especially those from Covid-19-hit provinces and cities, to prevent the spread of the disease.
