PremiumVietnam is battling its biggest Covid-19 outbreak yet. The southeast Asian country had earlier successfully contained the virus last year using strict measures, including targeted testing and quarantine
Fully vaccinated foreign visitors to Vietnam will only have to quarantine for seven days now instead of the earlier mandate of 14 days, the country's health ministry has said.
"Foreign visitors who have tested negative for Covid-19 within 72 hours and are also fully vaccinated would now be permitted to quarantine for seven days," Vietnam's health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
This comes even as Vietnam is battling its biggest Covid-19 outbreak yet. The southeast Asian country had earlier successfully contained the virus last year using strict measures, including targeted testing and quarantine.
However, since April, Covid-19 cases have been surging in the country due to an uptick in Delta variant infections.
Vietnam had closed its borders last year to all visitors but returning citizens of the country, foreign experts, investors or diplomats were allowed to enter. All of the mentioned categories were subject to 14 days of quarantine at centrally-managed facilities.
The statement did not say when the new policy would take effect.
Vietnam has reported a total of 174,000 Covid-19 cases and 2,071 deaths, most of which were recorded over the past month in Ho Chi Minh City, the epicentre of the outbreak. The business hub and all of Vietnam's southern provinces and cities are under strict lockdown, along with the capital, Hanoi.
With cases rapidly rising, centralised quarantine facilities across the country have been working at full capacity, the health ministry said late last month.
Just 744,000 people have been fully vaccinated in Vietnam, a country of 98 million, according to official data. On Tuesday, health minister Nguyen Thanh Long warned the pace of inoculation had been too slow.
With inputs from agencies.
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