Mandatory quarantine period may be shortened

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam presides over a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Ha Noi, May 19, 2021. Photo: VGP

Vu stressed the point at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Wednesday afternoon.

The Deputy PM tasked the Ministry of Health to renew and issue new regulations on quarantining and testing entrants, including foreign investors and experts and Vietnamese returnees.

The renewed regulations must be issued within the next seven days, Vu ordered, adding that it is not necessary to impose 21-day mandatory quarantine for all entrants.

Those who are “safe” [already get two COVID-19 vaccine shots] could be released from centralized sites after seven days and subject to medical surveillance at places of residence, Vu suggested.

He said that adjusting the mandatory quarantine period aims to ease pressure on quarantine sites, shorten time and costs for entrants, especially foreign experts.

As of 7:00 pm on May 19, the national caseload reached 4,690, including 1,647 local infections confirmed in 28 cities and provinces nationwide since April 27 when the fourth wave of local transmissions broke out./.

By Thuy Dung