Today’s Covid News: Testing won’t be compulsory for vaccinated passengers

Passengers of road, aviation, railway, waterways, and maritime transport in Vietnam will not be subject to Covid-19 testing from October 1 if they are single-dosed for three weeks.

Some relaxation taken to facilitate the reopening in HCMC. Photo: Khanh Huy/ The Hanoi Times

Double-dosed people and those recovered from Covid-19 within six months are applicable to free testing.

The requirements, which were released by the Ministry of Transport, are aimed to facilitate the traveling of people in the context of resuming business.

As part of efforts to reopen the economy, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) from Oct 1 will welcome laborers returning to the city. Under its rules, returnees need to meet one of the following requirements: getting the first shot for two weeks, being recovered from Covid-19, and negative testing results.

The largest city has gradually curbed the spread of the pandemic. So far, District 7, Cu Chi, Can Gio, Nha Be, Phu Nhuan, and Go Vap Districts have brought the pandemic under control.

As a result of the pandemic fight, HCMC’s deaths fell sharply over the past month, to 96 today from 330 in late August.

Thus far, around 11 million doses of vaccine have been administered in the city, including more than half of seven adults aged above 18 are fully inoculated.

On Oct 1, the number of people recovered from Covid-19 in Vietnam hits a record high of 27,520 and a record low in deaths with 136 victims. Ho Chi Minh City’s fatalities fell to 96 deaths today from 330 in late August.

Hanoi allows outdoor exercises on Sept 21 after two months. Photo: Khanh Huy/ The Hanoi Times

Ho Chi Minh City reopens series of activities from October 1

Ho Chi Minh City will resume some kinds of activities from October 1 to enable people and businesses to be back to the new normal.

However, the reopening is selective for eight kinds of sectors and activities, as follows.

- State agencies and organizations work with limited in-person personnel

- Foreign missions and organizations with limited staff

- Medical facilities and medical equipment

- Essential services and sectors like trade plazas, supermarkets, and wet markets, firms in industrial parks and economic zones, foreign representative offices, finance and banking, post and telecommunications, agro-forestry-aquaculture, water, electricity, and transport, tourism, stationery, takeaways, barbershops.

- Wedding and funeral having no more than 20 attendees, outdoor exercises, visits to museums, art and sports performance with attendees fully vaccinated or recovered from Covid-19.

- Ín-person teaching activities with attendees fully inoculated.

- Religious practices.

- Public and indoor gatherings maximum 100 people for double dosed attendees.

In many activities, full vaccination becomes an advantage.

Given the relaxation in traveling, people in HCMC, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Long An are not allowed to travel out of the region, according to a decision made on Sept 30 by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

To facilitate the travel, private cars are allowed within the four-locality region.

The move is aimed to curb the spread of the virus to other areas which remain low in the vaccination rate.

With an aim to serve the reopening, more supermarkets, convenient stores, and wet markets have been back to operations.

New cases found in Hanoi

Hanoi, meanwhile, reported five more cases that are linked to Viet Duc Hospital, breaking its streak of five days without locally-transmitted infections. Massive testing has been conducted in the hospital and surrounding places.

The city’s mayor Chu Ngoc Anh today announced it will retain the anti-pandemic achievements to continue recovery plans in October. Accordingly, it will focus on five fields namely trade and services; manufacturing and industrial production; construction; tourism; transport, and agriculture.

Covid-19 cases in Vietnam. Source: MoH. Chart: Minh Vu