Hundreds of Vietnamese citizens returned home from Laos via a border gate in the north-central province of Nghe An on Thursday and were brought to a quarantine camp to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Following their arrival at Nam Can Border Gate in Ky Son District in Nghe An, the citizens were required to have their body temperature measured and fill out heath declaration forms.

They were then brought to a quarantine facility at a local high school.

According to Ho Quyet Thang, deputy chief of the provincial border guard unit, 45 checkpoints have been established and 357 officers mobilized to supervise arrivals along the borderline between Nghe An Province and Laos.

At Nam Can Border Gate, officers have caught ten people entering the country illegally in an attempt to dodge quarantine, Thang continued.

Statistics from the Nghe An steering committee for epidemic prevention and control show that about 4,000 Nghe An residents are working and living in Laos.

As more people are expected to return to their hometown in the coming days, local authorities are planning on establishing more quarantine facilities at military bases and school dormitories.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 540,000 and killed more than 24,300 globally, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has confirmed 153 COVID-19 cases, with 20 having already been discharged from the hospital.

More than 2,300 people are being quarantined in Nghe An Province, of whom 601 are under home isolation.

A total of 342 people have been tested for COVID-19 in the province, and 150 samples have come back negative. Results of the remaining 192 samples are pending.

Local benefactors have donated over VND16.2 billion (US$689,900) to anti-epidemic efforts in the province.

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