Vietnam to scrap health declaration for domestic travel

Completing health declarations, one of Vietnam’s five protocols to contain the Covid-19 spread, will be removed, said Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

« Vietnam has not tracked down any Covid-19 related cases and is returning to normalcy, which means health declaration for domestic travel is unnecessary, » Long told a meeting Tuesday.

He said the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the ministry will soon provide specific guidance on removing the protocol.

In August 2020, the Ministry of Health issued a protocol to contain the spread of Covid, warning people to wear masks, disinfect their hands frequently, keep a safe distance from each other, avoid crowds and complete health declarations, commonly known as 5K protocol.

Since then, given the « complicated » developments of the pandemic, the protocol has become a mandate and those who fail to follow it are seen as law breakers to be dealt with accordingly.

Yet in recent months, with Covid-19 has been gradually brought under control, with many cities and provinces proposing the Health Ministry adjusts the protocol and require people to wear a mask and disinfect their hands in public places only.

In a talk with VnExpresson Monday, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son said the ministry is considering moving Covid-19 out of Group A, which comprises dangerous infectious diseases with the ability to spread quickly and widely, have a high mortality rate or an unknown causative agent. Some others in this group include influenza A – H5N1, plague, smallpox, dengue fever, and cholera.

However, « the government will make the final call, » he said, refusing to share further information.

Last Tuesday, Son told a ministry meeting that if Covid-19 patients « are willing to go to work, » employers should make arrangements to separate them and avoid cross-infection. Son made the statement just several days after the ministry announced the lifting of all isolation measures previously applied for Covid close contacts.

Official data from the ministry showed that the average number of new infections recorded in the past week was 10,936 cases per day, down 45 percent compared to the previous week.

By Chi Le & Le Phuong – VnExpress.net – April 25, 2022