Stop Covid testing for flight arrivals: health ministry

Phan Trong Lan, head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, said the ministry had sought opinions and received agreements for this from the International Air Transport Association, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam and other relevant authorities.

"The proposal to suspend the Covid-19 testing requirement before entry for flight arrivals will fall in line with the rest of the world and ensure consistency between technical units on disease prevention measures for arrivals," he said.

Vietnam stopped requiring medical declarations upon arrival from abroad starting April 27; and for domestic travel starting April 30, as the number of Covid-19 infections and deaths fell in Vietnam and around the world.

But foreign arrivals are still required to present negative result of Covid test taken before departure.

Many countries have already stopped their testing requirements. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand have taken this step.