Vietnamese authorities have suspended entry into Vietnam by people from India, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos as a measure to contain the increasing COVID-19 spread, the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos has said.

The suspension applies to those who have stayed in or transited these countries within 21 days before their expected entrance into Vietnam, except for special cases, the Vietnam News Agency cited the embassy’s notice as saying on Monday.

In its notice, the embassy said the new rule does not apply to foreigners who escort shipments transported to Vietnam and later leave the country after the goods have been unloaded, without any contact with locals.

The embassy also recommended that Vietnamese living in Laos should not return home amid the increasing coronavirus spread in Vietnam.

Vietnamese communities in Laos should strictly follow the host country's COVID-19 control regulations and not leave their residence except in emergency cases, the embassy advised.

Those who need to return home for special necessary reasons should register their trips with Vietnam’s embassy and consular agencies in Laos for arrangements.

The embassy said it has received 20 applications of Vietnamese living in Laos for returning to Vietnam under necessary circumstances, including medical treatment.

The embassy added it has referred all the applications to designated Vietnamese agencies for approval and requested that applicants arrive at border gates only when they are included in the list of approved entries posted on the embassy’s website.   

Anyone illegally crossing the border or arranging for others to make illegal entry into Vietnam will be strictly punished, the embassy warned.

Le Thi Thu Hang, spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press conference on May 13 that Vietnam only grants entry to foreigners who are technical experts, skilled workers, and business managers.

The ministry is closely monitoring the epidemic developments in other countries to loosen or tighten immigration on a case-by-case basis, the spokesperson added.

The Ministry of Health confirmed 50 new COVID-19 cases nationwide at noon on Tuesday, all domestically detected, of which 32 were in Bac Giang Province.

The new infections have taken Vietnam’s caseload to 7,482, including 47 deaths, since the COVID-19 hit the country in early 2020.

Since April 27, when the pandemic’s fourth wave began in Vietnam, 4,407 infections have been recorded across the Southeast Asian country.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!