Vietnam to ramp up border health screenings amid concerns over Omicron subvariant

Chinese people perform procedures at a border gate in Lang Son in northern Vietnam, January 8, 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered a ramping up of health screenings at the border amid the detection of an Omicron subvariant that's more contagious and elusive in Vietnam.

In a document issued Sunday, Chinh said that coronavirus variants constantly change, including an Omicron subvariant called XBB, which is more contagious and which evades the immune system better than the original Omicron variant.

The XBB subvariant has been detected in HCMC and its neighbor Tay Ninh Province, which the health ministry said could potentially lead to more Covid-19 cases in the future.

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