Foreigners arriving in Vietnam for more than 14 days will have to pay testing and quarantine expenses, VnExpress reported, citing the Ministry of Health on September 21.

The conditions will apply to holders of official and diplomatic passports, staff of international organizations, experts, managers, skilled workers, investors, students and Vietnamese relatives.

Passengers on the first international flight Noi Bai - Narita (Tokyo), which was re-operated after a 6-month hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

The visitors, who are required to have coronavirus-free certificate issued three to five days before boarding, will be tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) for SARS-CoV-2 twice in Vietnam.

The fee for each real-time PCR test is VND734,000 (US$31.62). The fee for each quick test is VND238,000 (US$10.25). The test will be done on entry and again six days later. If the passengers test positive for SARS-CoV-2, he/she will be taken to a medical facility for treatment. If they test negative twice, they will still be put under quarantine for 14 days.

International arrivals who opt to stay at government-run quarantine facilities are required to pay at least VND120,000 (US$5.17) per day. They need to choose the tentative quarantine facility before entering Vietnam.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said the health sector has prepared a careful test plan when Vietnam resumes a number of international flight routes after the country has undergone more than two weeks without locally-transmitted coronavirus infections.

According to the new guidance of the Ministry of Health, incoming passengers will be allowed to quarantine at the company’s factory, the company headquarters, or at a designated hotel/facility.

In addition, if they test negative twice, they could be released and take self-quarantine at their residence or company headquarters.

When being quarantined, passengers will still be sampled for testing. If they are tested at the checkpoint or the test results are not clear, then they must take the test at the isolation center.

Besides, they must strictly observe measures for medical supervision, isolation, pandemic prevention, avoid contact with the community and immediately notify the health sector when noticing signs of the Covid-19-suspected infection.

Up to now, Vietnam’s six international air routes are allowed to reopen, including flights to Taiwan, Guangzhou, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia and Laos. The first flight departed last Saturday from Hanoi to Tokyo.

In light of the recent Covid-19 outbreak, Vietnam has imposed several travel restrictions on all foreigners entering the country and suspended the entry of all commercial flights from April 1.