21 Vietnam airports to test all employees for Covid-19

The employees of five airports - Tan Son Nhat in HCMC, Cam Ranh in central Khanh Hoa Province, Can Tho in the eponymous Mekong Delta City, Vinh in northern Nghe An Province and Lien Khuong in the Central Highlands' Lam Dong Province - have already been tested and found all negative, an ACV representative said Thursday.

Sixteen other airports - Noi Bai, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Cat Bi, Phu Bai, Buon Ma Thuot, Phu Cat, Pleiku, Chu Lai, Tho Xuan, Dong Hoi, Tuy Hoa, Con Dao, Dien Bien, Rach Gia and Ca Mau - will have their employees tested in the coming days by local Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport will have the highest number of employees tested, around 3,200 people, the representative added.

Vietnam has 22 airports, but the Van Don Airport of northern Quang Ninh Province has been closed since Jan. 28 after a group of employees were found infected with coronavirus. It is set to reopen on Feb. 13.

Also Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) called on industry stakeholders to ramp up Covid-19 prevention measures ahead of the Lunar New Year Festival that begins in a week. Any passenger with abnormal symptoms must be reported to medical authorities, and equipment must be constantly disinfected to prevent contamination, it said.

Since Jan. 28, Vietnam has recorded 375 Covid-19 community transmissions in the third wave sweeping through the nation. New infections have been detected in 10 cities and provinces so far: Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Gia Lai, Binh Duong, Bac Ninh, Hoa Binh, HCMC, Hai Phong and Bac Giang.

The current national Covid-19 tally of 1,957 includes 35 deaths. Over 65,000 people are quarantined in hospitals, centralized facilities, homes or other designated accommodations.