The risk of infection remain high without strict quarantine of citizens returning home from epidemic-hit countries and experts and skilled workers entering Vietnam for work.

Imposing a 14-day quarantine upon arrival is considered the best way to prevent disease transmission. Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said Vietnam is tightening control on the border in order to ease restrictions in the interior and realize its dual goals of preventing the disease while boosting economic growth.

“We are continuing disease prevention measures to keep the virus from entering Vietnam. All arriving passengers, including foreign official passport holders and Vietnamese citizens will be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival and will be tested for COVID 19 twice when they enter and leave the quarantine area," said Long.

A the risk remains because of Vietnam’s long borders and many border crossings with other countries. Tran Dac Phu, a senior adviser to Vietnam’s public health emergency operations center, said: “We are very worried about community outbreaks which could involve a large number of infections and cause overloading of hospitals.”

The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Response says it will continue disease prevention measures, tighten border gates, introduce detailed immigration, quarantine, and post-quarantine health monitoring guidelines. Everyone entering Vietnam from overseas must undergo a 14-day quarantine for the time being.

At a meeting on COVID-19 response, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said the fight against COVID-19 will be long and the Vietnamese government will continue to work with ministries, sectors, localities, and the international community to defeat the disease.