Vietnamese authorities have denied the entry of nearly 300 passengers whose time window between leaving China and entering Vietnam has been less than 14 days (the incubation period of the virus).

Vietnam denies entry of passengers in some cases. Photo: Zing

So far, Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi have refused to allow 289 passengers to enter the country following regulations on preventing Covid-19, the new name of the latest strain of coronavirus.

Tan Son Nhat airport denied 286 passengers while Noi Bai refused three. Of the passengers, 218 came from Hong Kong on a flight by Cathay Pacific, the flag carrier of Hong Kong, 44 from Malaysia, 10 from Thailand, and four from Singapore.

Under international law, the passengers were sent back to the departing locations on the same day.

To tighten control over the entry of passengers who traveled across China, Vietnamese authorities have asked international airlines to check travel history of passengers before coming to Vietnam to avoid unexpected denial.

Since early this month, Vietnam has suspended all flights from and to China, except those to repatriate Vietnamese citizens and those for diplomatic relations and relief.

As of February 12, Vietnam confirmed 15 people infected with Covid-19, of them six have recovered and been discharged from hospital. Of the infected cases, two are Chinese nationals and six returned to the country from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak.

The country also quarantines 97 others.

The global infections hit 45,171 as of Wednesday while the death toll climbed to 1,115, including two outside China.