Where Hanoians from high-risk areas can travel for New Year

With four days to go before the three-day New Year holiday begins this Saturday, eight districts in the capital including Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Hoang Mai, Long Bien, Nam Tu Liem, Tay Ho, Dong Da and Hai Ba Trung are now designated 'orange zones,' deemed as having high Covid risks after Hanoi led the country’s daily infection tally for a week.

Some tourists living in high-Covid risk areas have canceled their room bookings or found alternative holiday destinations as some northern localities require home or centralized quarantine from visitors in orange and red zones.

Hanoians can now travel to Ninh Binh Province, Moc Chau Town in Son La Province, Ha Giang and Hoa Binh, which still allow visitors from orange or red zones but require them to be fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid and show a negative test result obtained within 72 hours before arrival.

Vinh Phuc Province, home to Tam Dao resort town, asks all accommodation facilities to carry out rapid tests on guests regardless of pandemic level.

Hanoians can also choose to visit Phu Quoc Island off the southern coast or Da Lat Town in the Central Highlands where tourists from orange or red zones are exempt from quarantine. They need to undergo rapid testing at their accommodation facilities.

In addition, Hanoians can visit high-end resorts on the outskirts of Hanoi such as Meliá Mountain Retreat in Ba Vi District or Tomodachi Retreat Lang Mit in Son Tay provided they show a negative test result done one day before arrival.

Some famous tourist hotspots in northern Vietnam like Lao Cai and Hai Phong currently require visitors from orange zones to undergo seven-day quarantine at home or accommodation facilities and 14 days for those arriving from red zones.

Quang Ninh Province, home to Ha Long Bay, imposes centralized quarantine for visitors from orange and red zones.

Hanoi has recorded over 38,000 infections during the fourth coronavirus wave that hit the country since late April. The city of more than 8 million people has seen a surge in daily infections over the past two weeks, prompting local authorities to suspend on-site dining in many downtown districts and tighten pandemic prevention measures.