Breaking: Vietnam confirms first cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus
A person arriving in Hanoi from the U.K. has been confirmed as Vietnam's first Covid-19 case with the
Vietnam’s two biggest cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have announced to quarantine visitors arriving from countries and territories which have confirmed Covid-19 Omicron infections.
According to a decision issued on December 27 by the Hanoi People’s Committee, people arriving in the city from countries that have reported the Covid-19 Omicron variant will be sent to quarantine areas regardless of their full vaccination or recovery status.
Related: Breaking: Vietnam confirms first case of Omicron variant of coronavirus
The committee has also called for tight control at Noi Bai International Airport and monitoring people who have been to countries and regions with the variant but not having arrived from there.
Local laboratories have been asked to conduct gene sequencing for detecting the variant while testing.
Random testing will be carried out on people who entered Vietnam in the last 28 days after visiting countries with Omicron, those reinfected with Covid after recovery and those from pandemic hotspots.
Hanoi on Tuesday reported the first Omicron infection. According to the Ministry of Health, a person who arrived in the city from the UK on December 19 has been found infected with the Covid-19 Omicron variant which is also the first case in Vietnam. The person tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 after landing at the Noi Bai Airport and had been sent to quarantine upon arrival.
Ho Chi Minh City has also decided to impose mandatory quarantine on people arriving from places that have reported the Omicron variant since December 14.
The new regulations set by Hanoi and HCM City seem stricter than the guidelines recently issued by the Ministry of Health. According to the ministry’s guidelines, starting from January 1, 2021, people arriving from overseas are allowed to self-isolate for three days if they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or have recovered from the disease.
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