Medical experts says Covid test requirement for foreign entrants no longer necessary

[ASEAN NOW News]

South Korean tourists arrive at Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang, April 29, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

 

It is no longer necessary for Vietnam to request coronavirus test results from foreign entrants as it only causes more trouble at arrival, a medical expert said.

 

VN Express reported that as currently ruled, anyone entering Vietnam must be tested negative for the new coronavirus within 72 hours if the test is done via the PRC method and 24 hours if via rapid testing before departure.

 

The rule is applied to all entrants arriving by air, sea, or road.

 

Arguing that the regulation is no longer necessary, Nguyen Lan Hieu, director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital, said there are now very few countries still requesting a negative test from foreign arrivals as the pandemic has been put under control globally and very few countries are applying the zero-Covid policy.

 

"Testing does not carry much value these days and only serves the purpose of referencing," he told VnExpress.

 

The rule only causes more trouble for those that want to come to Vietnam.

 

"It needs to be removed soon so that everything could actually get back to normal," he said.

 

Vietnam announced to scrap the medical declaration requirement for all foreign entrants from April 27 and domestic medical declaration from April 30.

 

Inside Vietnam, experts and officials have more than once suggested the Ministry of Health adjust Covid-19 prevention protocols now that the disease is no longer as dangerous as before and most Vietnamese people have been immunized.

 

In August 2020, the ministry issued protocols to contain the Covid spread, warning people to wear a mask, disinfect their hands, keep a distance from each other, avoid crowds and complete health declarations.

 

Given the complicated development of the pandemic, the protocols became a mandate and those who failed to follow them would be dealt with according to the law.

 

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