Only 40 pct of international air routes have resumed: official

Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, said at a meeting Friday that the aviation industry targets full restoration of international services by the end of this year.

Currently the frequency of flights to China and South Korea, Vietnam’s biggest tourism markets, remains limited as the two countries still have strict Covid-related entry restrictions.

Thang also pointed to the monkeypox outbreak, which WHO has declared a global health emergency, saying it could cause countries around the world to again impose entry restrictions and quarantines, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Monkeypox is now present in 78 countries and territories, and there have been over 16,000 cases and five deaths.

It is transmitted through bodily fluids and lesions.

Countries across Asia that have recorded cases of the disease are on high alert, screening travelers coming from outbreak-hit areas.

Vietnam has yet to record a case, but the health ministry said on Friday that people with monkeypox have to quarantine at health centers or hospitals until their symptoms disappear.

Aviation officials expect the number of international passengers going through Vietnamese airports this year to reach 10 million, or around 24 percent of pre-pandemic levels.