HCMC relaxes Covid checks on foreign arrivals

The department Monday ordered the city’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention to cease screening for negative coronavirus test results among arrivals.

The new rule takes effect Monday.

According to the department, before boarding a plane to Vietnam, passengers are already requested by airlines to submit a negative test result prior to departure.

Therefore, there is no need to check that certificate once more upon arrival, it said.

Tan Son Nhat airport also categorizes entries into two groups: those that have completed a medical declaration and those that have yet to do so.

Passengers with a health declaration QR code will pass straight to the counter for immigration procedures while those without will have to move into a separate aisle to complete the process.

The adjustment in managing entries comes after Tan Son Nhat continuously suffered overloads in recent times.

The number of passengers passing through the airport from abroad has steadily increased as the country eased Covid restrictions for air travel.

Currently, the airport receives around 40 flights from abroad that bring about 4,000-4,500 passengers to Vietnam daily.

Vietnam reopened to tourism on March 15, allowing quarantine-free entry and foreign tourists can travel freely without having to book package tours.