No medical quarantine for Tet returnees: health ministry

The move came as Vietnam boasts one of the world’s highest vaccine coverage rates after 95.6 percent of people aged 18 and above got fully vaccinated and 18.6 percent received a booster shot.

The ministry said if people show symptoms of Covid such as fever, cough, difficulty in breathing, they must limit contact and travel and immediately notify local health authorities for sample collection and testing.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday ordered provinces and cities not to apply pandemic prevention measures contrary to the government’s strategy of living safely with the pandemic.

Over the past weeks, a series of localities have imposed different quarantine and testing measures on those returning home for Tet.

Earlier this month, Thanh Hoa Town in the eponymous central province called on people not to return for Tet if not necessary out of Covid-19 fears.

Then, around 30 houses in Thieu Phu Commune in the province had their gates locked by authorities for hosting people returning from high coronavirus risk areas.

Vietnamese will have a nine-day break for Tet, or Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday, starting from Jan. 29.

The holiday often sees millions of migrant workers from major cities and industrial hubs return to their homes for family reunions.