Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with the Chinese side to soon bring home Vietnamese citizens from China’s coronavirus epidemic-hit areas, according to the ministry’s Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang.

The repatriation is based on citizens’ wish and in line with Vietnam and China’s law and international conventions, Hang said at a press conference on February 6.

Over the past days, Vietnam’s missions in China have kept in touch with more than 400 Vietnamese citizens who live, study in, and visit that country to support them, Hang said, adding that their health is in good condition.

Since being alerted of the epidemic, the ministry has asked its missions abroad and in China to update the situation and citizens’ wish to conduct citizen protection measures when needed, Hang said.

The ministry has also warned people not to visit places at risk of infection and epidemic-hit areas which China and the World Health Organization (WHO) had warned about, she noted.

For one Vietnamese citizen who is infected with the new coronavirus and under treatment in China’s Jiangxi province, the Vietnamese Embassy in China has worked with local authorities to ensure good care of her.

Earlier, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with the Chinese side to bring Vietnamese nationals back to the country through border gates and airports.

Vietnamese people returning to the country from China will be quarantined in military barracks for 14 days.