Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Health (MoH) on August 4 sent anofficial dispatch to relevant agencies on the reduction of concentrated quarantinetime for people who enter Vietnam and have been fully vaccinated againstCOVID-19.

The decision is made based on data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) inVietnam, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and theNational
Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The concentrated quarantine period will be cut down to seven days and thequarantined people will have to monitor their health conditions for anotherseven days, except for those who work less than 14 days in the country andother cases subject to different regulations of the National Steering Committeefor COVID-19 Prevention and Control and the MoH.

Specifically, the reduced quarantine period – compared to previous 14 days ofcentralised quarantine and seven days of follow-up medical observation – isapplicable to those having certified (by relevant authorities of the homecountry) proof of negative RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 72 hours prior todeparture, having been fully vaccinated with the last dose at least 14 days butno more than 12 months before the entry time (with vaccination certificates);or in place of vaccination records, those having been infected with coronavirus(with documents proving the positive status using RT-PCR method no more thansix months prior to the entry date), or proof showing they have recovered fromthe disease or hospital discharge or equivalent documents issued by competentauthorities in the country where they have been treated.

All entries will have to be tested for COVID-19 on the first and theseventh day of the quarantine period (counting from the entry date). The firsttest could use either rapid antigen tests or RT-PCR tests, but the second testwould have to be single-sample RT-PCR tests.

Relevant authorities will handle cases with positive tests in line withexisting instructions and guidelines.

Those completing centralised quarantine and travelling to theirresidences/hotels/accommodation for further observation must wear masks, keep adistance, and use the contact tracing app Bluezone, according to the healthministry’s document.

The Bluezone app is required to be active during the seven days offollow-up observation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is asked to provide guidelines onverifying and approving COVID-19 vaccination certificates or COVID-19 recoveryproof or the equivalent documents by foreign authorities.

The local authorities must strictly abide by the instructions from thehealth ministry in the management of quarantined persons and handover andreception of those completing centralised quarantine period to ensure no crossinfections and spread of the virus to the community.

Those eligible for reduced quarantine could be arranged to pay forquarantine at hotels depending on their requests.

Previously,the northern province of Quang Ninh has been selected by the health ministry tocarry out pilot implementation of the seven-day quarantine in July./.