Vietnam ditches medical declaration for foreign entrants

However, localities must still continue to monitor entrants at border gates, the Ministry of Health said.

Foreign visitors to Vietnam now are only required to test negative for Covid before departure, either via PCR and rapid testing method.

Health minister Nguyen Thanh Long on Tuesday said medical declaration requirements for domestic traveling would also soon be scrapped, though a specific timeline has yet to be announced.

In August 2020, the Ministry of Health issued a protocol to contain the spread of Covid-19, telling people to wear masks, disinfect their hands frequently, keep a safe distance from each other, avoid crowds and complete health declarations, commonly known as the 5K protocol.

While the protocol used to be somewhat of a mandate, falling Covid-19 figures in recent months have prompted proposals to adjust the policies.

Official data from the ministry showed that the average number of new infections recorded in the past week was 10,936 cases per day, down 45 percent compared to the previous week.