Vietnam started to apply preventive safety measures on all passengers from Italy and Iran as of 0:00am on February 29 at all border gates given the rising number of new coronavirus infections in those two countries, according to the Ministry of Health.

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Health declaration is now required for everyone coming from Italy and Iran. Those with symptoms such as high fever, coughing and breathing difficulties will be put in quarantine.

Before that, passengers from China and South Korea have been required to declare their health conditions for timely preventive measures.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, in the first two months of 2020, Vietnam welcomed 16,200 Italian arrivals, up 4.5% year-on-year.

According to an update of the Ministry of Health, as of March 1, Italy had 1,128 cases and Iran 593 cases of new coronavirus infections.