Authorities of Hanoi have required people returning to the city after four-day national holiday from April 30 to May 3 to make health declaration. 

Each neighborhood should keep an eye on the medical declaration, Chu Xuan Dung, deputy chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said at a recent meeting.

Passengers make medical declaration at Noi Bai International Airport. Photo: Ngoc Tu

He noted that the local authorities have no intention to trouble locals but health declaration is for the safety of the community.

"Authorities in Hanoi’s districts must know each resident’s destination and flight so that when a Covid-19 carrier is detected, we can promptly trace his or her contacts," Dung said.

The Hanoi People's Committee requires returnees to the city after the upcoming holiday to go to the police at their residence to make medical declaration.

Hanoi police will strictly punish individuals who will not make medical declaration or make dishonest medical reports, Dung noted.

He also asked local authorities to keep a close watch on home quarantine of people who made contact with confirmed patients.

During the holiday, local authorities and the city’s health bodies are on stand by around the clock for the Covid-19 battle.

According to Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh, since the latest Covid-19 outbreak in late January, the country has gone over two months without community transmissions.

In Vietnam's measures to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic so far, the health declaration is key to helping local authorities monitor suspected cases and trace contact when necessary, Hanh emphasized.

He added that even though all incoming coronavirus carriers are put under quarantine immediately upon arriving Vietnam, local residents should be on high alert to Covid-19 prevention by complying with all the anti-pandemic protocols.