Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has sent a proposal to the country’s Prime Minister about reopening international routes to foreign visitors. The initial plan is to resume flights to six international destinations.
Vietnam has so far been doing well in its fight against COVID-19. Compared to other Asian countries, Vietnam has a low number of confirmed cases and fatality rates. And in order to further protect the Vietnamese citizens and keep Vietnam safe, the government has introduced Bluezone, a Bluetooth application that can be installed on mobile phones. This app is designed to help remote hospitals in their examination and treatment of Covid-19 patients.
Although the country is still closed to foreign tourists, Vietnam has invited some foreign visitors to come to the country to help revive its economy. These foreign visitors include experts, investors, and skilled workers. One of the requirements that they need to fulfill when visiting Vietnam is to download the Bluezone in their smartphone.
Bluezone is a Bluetooth platform developed by Viettel, a government-owned military group. The app offers various services such as remote medical consultation, remote training, remote surgery consultation, remote tech transfers, and many more.
By introducing this platform, the government hopes to enhance the capacity of the remote hospitals in providing examination and treatment to patients. This technology also aims to reduce patient overload at the hospitals of major cities in Vietnam.
The app is capable of detecting the presence of others in a 2-meter radius and can also memorize the diagnosis. So if the user will test positive for Covid-19, the health authorities will be able to easily identify the patient’s close contacts. It will then alert nearby users of the possible risk of infection.
Vietnam’s Prime Minister attended the launching of Bluezone. During the event, he emphasized that the Bluezone is part of the government’s efforts to protect the health of the Vietnamese citizens. It will also serve as initial steps towards digital transformation in the country’s health sector and to realize the goal of transforming Vietnam into a digital nation.
The Prime Minister tasked the Government Office to finalize and submit a national digital transformation program for the issuance of the technology and to accelerate the country’s digital transformation.
Aside from Bluezone, the Ministry of Health has also recently launched the Telemedince Centre for the COVID-19 Outbreak Control, which aims to monitor the spread of Covid-19. The center’s main responsibility is in managing medical resources and professional activities to support health clinics in receiving, diagnosing, quarantining, and treating Covid-19 patients online through remote hospitals nationwide. The center will also address the issue of hospital understaffing, in the event that the outbreak will spread pretty quickly. It will also help minimize close contacts between patients and medical staff.
Vietnam’s Internet facilities are reliable and have met the standards, as stated by the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center. Therefore, using technologies such as the Bluezone platform should not be a problem. The average broadband download speed in the country is 61.39 Mbps, which is 45% higher compared to other Asian countries. As for mobile networks, the average download speed is 39.44 Mbps.
The official letter 4674/BYT-MT in 2020 talks about the guidelines for prevention and control of Covid-19 that applies to foreign visitors in Vietnam who plan on entering for work for a short period of time. Issued by the Ministry of Health, these guidelines apply to visitors who will be staying in the country for less than 14 days.
Foreign experts, investors, skilled workers, investors, and all those who are eligible to enter Vietnam will be exempted from the mandatory quarantine if they will stay in the country for less than 14 days. However, they are strongly advised to fully comply with the country’s regulations on Covid-19 prevention and control. This is to ensure their safety, and the other visitors they have been in close contact with, and to avoid infecting the community.
Foreign visitors who are on a short visit in Vietnam must abide by the following guidelines and requirements for the prevention and control of the Covid-19 disease:
As stated on the provisions above, foreign visitors entering Vietnam who intends to work in the country for only a short time will no longer have to isolate for 14 days. However, they must strictly comply with the regulations imposed. Above all, they must download the Bluezone app while in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport has sent a proposal to the country’s Prime Minister about reopening international routes to foreign visitors. The initial plan is to resume flights to six international destinations.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has recently proposed to operate International flights on September 15 to six different countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Laos, and Cambodia. Other relevant agencies will also submit their plans to the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control regarding the said proposal.
Even though Vietnam has been successful in containing the Coronavirus outbreak, it still has not opened up to international tourists. The Vietnamese government is careful enough not to allow another wave of infections, such as the case in Da Nang recently.
The Director-General of Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority has revealed that it has proposed to the Ministry of Transport the resumption of flights to Japan and South Korea. Such a proposal recommends having eight flights per week in and out of the said countries.
Due to the unpredictable and complicated nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam’s Health Ministry has put in place various initiatives to combat the spread of the disease. These measures have grown more stringent over time and are expected to change from time to time.
In order to curb the spread of Covid-19, Vietnam has decided to shut down its borders in March. The government also suspended all International flights and halted the issuance of new visas to foreign nationals.
