However, not all Vietnamese diaspora living or doing business in a foreign country are well-off. Many Vietnamese who are living and working in neighboring countries are mostly unskilled workers and have to save every month to have enough money to return home for Tet Lunar New Year. In order to help them, the government has decided against collecting a centralized isolation fee at point of entry via land into the country. The National Steering Committee against Covid-19 pandemic has made this decision to help them, especially at the time of Tet Lunar New Year, when more and more Vietnamese people are looking forward to returning back home. If there is a fee for centralized isolation, they may enter illegally and this will make it worse for all people who come in touch with them.
Currently, the Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers in the country are still doing research on pre-clinical testing, which includes two Covid-19 vaccines brought out by the Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology Joint Stock Company, and the Institute of Vaccine and Medical Biology. The Ministry of Health and some other related ministries will promote the vaccine testing program, so that when the vaccine has been tested successfully, it can immediately go into production before being made available to the general public.
The National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has said that 46 countries have already begun injecting the vaccine to people of all age groups. However, it will take a long time before a majority of the global population is fully covered. Now the new variant of the Covid-19 virus is also creating more problems by spreading faster that the first virus mutant. Therefore, countries that have begun to inject the vaccine are still at risk of another widespread outbreak. During the Tet Lunar New Year and before the overseas Vietnamese return home to celebrate the festival with their families, Vietnam will have to strictly control entry at the borders. Authorities will have to strengthen the border forces and timely support disease control posts at points of entry.
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is also the Head of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, emphasized that it is necessary to advise, warn and mobilize families with relatives abroad to strictly follow the legal route and comply with regulations on isolation and medical supervision. He stressed that for Vietnamese people working in other countries, encouraging people to comply with the regulations on pandemic prevention are vital. Mr. Vu Duc Dam feels that by not returning home at this time it is also a way to contribute to the control of the pandemic, but in cases where people wish to return to their home country, especially workers whose contracts have expired and are facing many economic difficulties, there will be a mechanism to organize flights for them to come home safely.
Before the Tet Lunar New Year, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Information and Communications, collaborated to complete and update the information for the Covid-19 pandemic immigration procedures. The system will record information as soon as citizens register with Vietnamese diplomatic missions to return home. They will have to submit a mandatory medical report and must state where they will travel or visit after the quarantine period is over. From there on the domestic pandemic control team will actively prepare a plan to pick up and send people into isolated areas, after the quarantine period has been completed, with details of person shared with the health agency and the quarantine location and where the person concerned will be picked up.
In addition to handling people entering by road, another issue of concern is the recent emergence of illegal entry from sea and waterways. Therefore, in addition to strengthening the border forces, the coast guard, the police, as well as local governments must actively propagate and warn families with relatives living abroad to make full medical declaration on arrival and comply with isolation and social distancing rules.
