The Hanoi administration has attributed safety reasons to strict mandatory quarantine regulations imposed on air travelers from Ho Chi Minh City, explaining that the rules are aimed at protecting the health of local residents, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Hanoi recently agreed to restart commercial flights on Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi-Da Nang routes from October 10 to 20 on a trial basis.

Upon arrival, passengers from Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport must spend seven days at concentrated quarantine centers or designated hotels before having their health monitored at home for another seven days.

They will also need to pay for quarantine and testing fees during the period.

Meanwhile, those coming from Da Nang are only required to quarantine at home or other accommodations for seven days and have their health monitored for another seven days.

The quarantine regulation is to ensure pandemic prevention and control and protect the health of residents, according to the Hanoi People's Committee.

Hanoi is Vetnam's capital, a national political-administrative center, and a major hub of culture, science, education, commerce, and transactions, the committee elaborated..

The city is home to many agencies of the Party, National Assembly, and government, as well as foreign diplomatic agencies and headquarters of multinational enterprises and corporations.

Therefore, protecting the city against the COVID-19 pandemic is the top priority.

The restoration of air routes poses a potential risk of COVID-19 transmission while any new outbreak might directly affect socio-economic development in Hanoi and other localities, as well as threaten people’s health.

Authorities at all levels thus need to take measures to gradually restore air routes while ensuring safety by strictly controlling the spread of the disease.

The recent social distancing drives in the capital have proved effective, but new cases are still detected in the community, of which several come from other localities.

The municipal authorities have to impose stricter regulations to protect the health and lives of citizens, as well as to tightly control the pandemic while continuing to fully vaccinate local residents, the Hanoi People's Committee said.

Vietnam has documented 835,036 in 62 out of 63 provinces and cities since the fourth outbreak broke out on April 27.

Ho Chi Minh City is the hardest-hit locality with 410,128 cases, Hanoi has recorded 4,269 cases, and Da Nang has registered 4,927 infections in this bout.

The Ministry of Transport recently allowed 38 flights on 19 domestic routes, including those connecting Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Da Nang, to resume operations on Sunday.

The Vietnamese government has gradually reopened the national economy since early this month, as the country has basically kept the COVID-19 pandemic at bay, with new infections and deaths falling markedly nationwide, as assessed by the Ministry of Health at a meeting on Saturday.

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