101 South Korean experts quarantined on Vietnam's biggest island

They arrived in Phu Quoc to work for a major business group that owns a billion-dollar project on the island. The group was not identified by the authorities of Kien Giang Province, off which the island is located.

The South Koreans arrived in normal health at the Phu Quoc International Airport and will remain in quarantine for 14 days as per the nation’s Covid-19 protocol.

Airport director Nguyen Minh Dong said it was the first international flight to land on the island since March 25, when Vietnam closed its borders and suspended all international flights to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. It also stopped issuing visas for foreign nationals since March 18.

Only Vietnamese citizens, foreigners with diplomatic passports, foreign experts or highly skilled workers are allowed the enter the country. Everyone has to be quarantined for 14 days on arrival.

During a Friday meeting with the Advisory Council for Administrative Reform and South Korean businesses in Vietnam, Ambassador Park Noh-wan said South Korean companies want Vietnam to be flexible with quarantine requirements for experts and executives entering the country for work.

Specifically, they wanted Vietnam to reduce the quarantine period and considers exemptions in some cases like people coming for short-term work and for important tasks like investment and signing contracts.

So far 4,300 South Korean experts have been granted permission to enter Vietnam for work since the pandemic broke out.

With 357 recoveries, Vietnam now has 26 active Covid-19 patients. By Sunday, the nation has gone 94 days without detecting a single case of Covid-19 infection caused by community transmission. No Covid-19 deaths have been recorded to date.

The pandemic has killed more than 605,600 worldwide.