Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have begun monitoring the body temperatures of all passengers at the Saigon Railway Station in a bid to control the contagion of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

A checkpoint was established at the railway station, located in District 3, on Thursday in order to measure the body temperaturs of all train passengers on a daily basis, said Nguyen Hong Tam, director of the city’s International Health Quarantine Center.

A team of medical workers has been tasked with operating the machines in order to check passengers for signs of fever, coughing, fatigue, or difficulty breathing.

Those who have such symptoms are asked to undergo further check-ups.

“If someone is potentially infected with the novel coronavirus, they will be quarantined and admitted to the hospital for treatment. Those in close contact with the suspected patient will also be closely monitored,” Tam elaborated.

According to the Saigon Railway Company, a lot of people are still traveling from northern and central provinces back to Ho Chi Minh City following the Lunar New Year.

Approximately 19 trains carry thousands of passengers to the Saigon Railway Station every day.

All employees have been equipped with skills and knowledge regarding the 2019-nCoV, while every train arriving at the station is thoroughly sterilized.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 638 people and infected over 31,400 globally as of Friday, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has spread across mainland China and to 31 other countries and regions, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Vietnam has confirmed twelve cases so far, including nine Vietnamese, one Vietnamese-American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese had fully recovered and been discharged from hospitasl as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

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