09:05, 05/05/2021

Preventing Covid-19 transmission from abroad

Covid-19 cases among nationals returning home and foreign experts from abroad have continued growing...

Covid-19 cases among nationals returning home and foreign experts from abroad have continued growing recently in Khanh Hoa Province. To prevent infection from abroad, the medical sector has boosted Covid-19 prevention and control at airports and in quarantine areas.
 
Human resource at airports enhanced
 
Cam Ranh International Airport has constantly received international flights carrying nationals from abroad. In April, the province received and quarantined passengers on 20 flights, including 12 commercial ones repatriating Vietnamese citizens, 1 carrying experts and 7 rescue flights for nationals stranded in Macao, Russia, Japan and the U.S.A.
 
Apart from tight entry checks and controls, the travelers are required to show their negative PCR test results for SARS-CoV-2 issued in their local countries. At the airport, the International Health Quarantine Center staff remotely conducts body temperature checks and sanitizes planes and reception areas before and after passengers are transferred to quarantine centers.
 

 

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Nationals from abroad at  Cam Ranh International Airport.
 
 
20 people are divided into 2 medical quarantine and medical check sections. Compared with the pre-Covid-19, the staff has doubled or tripled. All of the staff are provided with protective gears and maintains safe distance as required. Between each flight, the entire planes and reception areas are disinfected to prevent exposure to infection. Currently, the center has been equipped with 10 remote body check devices and sufficient disinfectants to avoid the potential spread of coronavirus, according to Nguyen Hoa Hoi, Director of the International Health Quarantine Center.
 
8 companies and agencies have planned to organize 18 flights carrying Vietnamese citizens back home in Khanh Hoa from abroad in May and June.
 
Pandemic control in accommodation facilities
 
Due to a large number of travelers in quarantine on arrival, besides centralized quarantine facilities managed by the army, Khanh Hoa Province has checked, assessed and established centralized quarantine at accommodation facilities. 31 hotels with approximately 6,000 rooms have been chosen to serve as quarantine areas.
 
According to Huynh Van Dong, Director of Khanh Hoa Center for Disease Control, many hotels have registered to serve as centralized quarantine facilities. Eligible hotels have undergone check and supervision many times to ensure compliance to quarantine requirements to avoid cross transmission.
 
Specifically, the Department of Tourism assesses if the hotels meet quarantine hotel requirements. When approved by the tourism sector, the health sector provides hotel staff with training and guidelines for guest service in accordance with the pandemic prevention and control regulations. Then, the two sectors will join in an inspection team to monitor and double-check the hotels for the anti-epidemic conditions and then suggest to the Provincial Steering Committee for Human Disease Prevention and Control for approval. When approved as quarantine areas, the hotels are not allowed to receive normal guests.
 
To assure pandemic prevention and control, 24-hour monitoring and supervision with tight preventive measures are conducted. The health conditions of all travelers in quarantine are strictly monitored. All hotels are equipped with surveillance cameras. The medical sector also conducts regular inspection over the pandemic prevention and control at the facilities. “Quarantine facilities have met safety requirements for pandemic prevention and control,” confirmed Huynh Van Dong.
 
Flights carrying nationals back home from abroad, flight providers and companies have well complied with commitments such as negative SARS-CoV-2 testing results before entry, Covid-19 treatment payment for nationals, etc., according to Bui Xuan Minh, Director of the Department of Health.
 
C.Dan
Translated by N.T