Hanoi quarantines passengers from countries with Omicron variant

The new rules are applicable regardless of whether or not such passengers have been vaccinated or have contracted COVID-19 previously.

Such measures are designed to prevent the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant as Hanoi has now seen daily cases surpassing 1,000 for more than a week.

The Hanoi government requested the Department of Health and the relevant agencies at Noi Bai International Airport to step up the monitoring of passengers entering Vietnam through the airport, particularly those from countries where the Omicron variant has been detected.

In addition, the capital city’s authorities asked laboratories to proactively conduct tests to detect the new variant in a timely manner, especially among those entering Vietnam within the past 28 days, those re-infected with the virus, and those in complicated clusters with high numbers of cases.

If the Omicron variant is detected, efforts should be made to track the original sources of infection and their close contacts to break up the transmission chains.

Hanoi recorded 1,948 cases of COVID-19 on December 27, mostly in the districts of Hoang Mai, Dong Da, Thanh Tri, Thanh Xuan, Bac Tu Liem, Cau Giay, Gia Lam, Ba Dinh and Thuong Tin.