All passengers on domestic flights have been required to get tested for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) upon their arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The screening has been conducted since Saturday, said Nguyen Hong Tam, director of the International Health Quarantine Center of Ho Chi Minh City.

Tan Son Nhat now handles an average of 600 passengers traveling from Hanoi and the central city of Da Nang, Tam elaborated.

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, all domestic and foreign airlines were asked to stop transporting overseas Vietnamese to Tan Son Nhat airport from March 25.

All Vietnamese airlines have suspended their international routes until the end of April.

The Vietnamese government has limited the number of flights between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and other localities in the country to curb the spread of the disease.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 1.2 million people and killed more than 64,700 globally as of Sunday afternoon, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has announced 240 COVID-19 patients so far, with 90 having recovered.

No fatality related to the disease has been reported in the country to date.

Ho Chi Minh City has recorded 53 cases, of whom 22 have recovered.

The biggest cluster in the southern metropolis is Buddha Bar & Grill in Thao Dien Ward, District 2 – a neighborhood populated by high-end villas and a vibrant community of foreigners.

The first detected case related to the venue was a British pilot residing in an apartment in District 2.

At least 18 infections have been linked to this bar since.

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City collect 1,700 samples for COVID-19 tests on a daily basis, the International Health Quarantine Center stated, adding that they will utilize rapid-result kits soon.

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