Health Ministry proposes suspension of inbound flights to prevent new variants of SARS-CoV-2
As of January 3, 34 countries recorded the mutated SARS-CoV-2. The WHO announced that the new variant could spread about 50% to 70% faster than previous forms of the virus.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has proposed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to stop operating and restrict licensing flights to Vietnam from countries and territories infected with a new variant of SARS-CoV-2.
| Vietnam health ministry proposes to suspend flights to prevent new variant of SARS-CoV-2. Photo: Thanh Binh |
According to the Health Ministry’s report, Covid-19 pandemic keeps expanding in many countries. On December 18, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 in the UK could spread about 50% to 70% faster than previous forms of the virus. As of January 3, 34 countries recorded the new variants of SARS-CoV-2, according to the Ministry of Health.
So far, more than 40 countries have suspended travel to and from the UK, and countries that have recorded new variants of SARS-CoV-2.
In Vietnam, a Vietnamese woman returning from the UK was found to be infected with the mutated SARS-CoV-2. She arrived together with 305 passengers on Vietnam Airlines flight VN50 that landed in the southern city of Can Tho on December 22, 2020.
She was confirmed on January 2 as the first case of the new mutant coronavirus in Vietnam. She is in stable health condition after being quarantined at a hospital in the southern province of Tra Vinh.
Currently, Vietnam has only allowed arrivals of foreign diplomats, businesses and highly-skilled workers.
So far, the country has reported 1,497 Covid-19 cases, including 1,339 recoveries and 35 deaths.
