HCMC – Vietnam’s Covid-19 tally rose by 175,480 cases today, March 15, to reach more than 6.55 million cases, according to the Ministry of Health.
Among the new infections, 175,468 patients were local infections in all 63 provinces and cities across the country, up 14,221 cases against yesterday. The remaining 12 cases were imported.
Hanoi as usual took the lead with 26,708 new cases, followed by Nghe An with 10,752, Phu Tho with 9,062, Hai Duong with 5,464 and Bac Ninh with 5,007.
Thai Nguyen, Hung Yen, Hoa Binh and Son La were among the eight provinces that had more than 4,000 cases each.
The Ministry of Health also reported 68 more Covid deaths and 111,164 new recoveries.
In related news, the Ministry of Health today consulted with the national anti-Covid steering committee over a draft on anti-Covid measures for travelers entering Vietnam.
Accordingly, the draft has no regulations on the quarantine of foreign tourists.
However, air travelers, except for children under 2, must show a negative result of either PCR Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours or a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours before departure.
The regulation will be also applied to people traveling to Vietnam by sea, road and rail. In this latter case, if travelers fail to show test results, they must take a Covid test within 24 hours upon their entry.
If the test result is negative, tourists can leave their hotels and participate in tourism activities.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is waiting for the anti-Covid measures for international tourists issued by the Ministry of Health to issue a plan on the full reopening of tourism.
Earlier, commenting on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s draft plan to reopen tourism, the Ministry of Health had proposed strict requirements for foreign travelers entering Vietnam, such as a three-day quarantine period for fully-vaxxed tourists and a seven-day quarantine period for those who have not got enough Covid vaccine doses. The ministry had also recommended that those who are highly vulnerable to Covid infection should not enter Vietnam.
On March 14, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam asked the Ministry of Health to amend the requirements for foreign travelers entering Vietnam to match the new situation.
