Vietnam's Ministry of Transport has approved the reopening of Van Don Airport in northern Quang Ninh Province from 6:01 am on Wednesday after one month of closure in adherence to a COVID-19 prevention mandate.

The halt of the airport was originally planned to last only one day from 12:00 pm January 28 after a case of COVID-19 transmission was confirmed in the locale earlier that day. 

However, it was extended multiple times and lasted over one month due to the complex development of the epidemic. 

On March 1, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) appealed to the Ministry of Transport to reopen Van Don Airport from 6:01 am on March 3, considering the attempt to contain COVID-19 in Quang Ninh is seeing great results.

According to the CAAV, by Monday, the Van Don Airport had been thoroughly fumigated to prepare for its resumption.

Meanwhile, all officers and workers of the airport have completed either self-isolation or concentrated quarantine, besides receiving the third negative result in COVID-19 testing by February 26.

Vehicles and functional devices at Van Don Airport have also received maintenance, while staffers for security operations and safety measures have been ensured.

Vietnam Airlines will be the first carrier to reconnect the Ho Chi Minh City – Van Don route after the airport’s reopening, with a frequency of one flight per week every Wednesday from March 3 to 17 and three flights per week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from March 18 till the end of the year.

Flights will depart from Ho Chi Minh City on 1:00 am and leave Van Don on 3:45 pm.

Vietnam has recorded 2,475 coronavirus cases as of Wednesday morning, with 1,898 recoveries and 35 virus-related fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

The Southeast Asian country had spent nearly two months detecting zero community cases before it found the first one on January 27 and confirmed it one day later.

Quang Ninh Province has reported 61 COVID-19 cases since, but it has so far gone three weeks without recording any new transmission. 

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