Tourists evacuated from Vietnamese city after Covid-19 outbreak
Nearly 80,000 tourists were evacuated from the central province of Quang Ngain after multiple cases of Covid-19 were reported
According to Reuters, travellers filled Da Nang International Airport on Monday after the government ordered evacuations of mostly domestic tourists back to their homes, with carriers operating approximately 100 flights daily to 11 cities across Vietnam. Travellers returning home from Da Nang will have to quarantine for 14 days.
The evacuation will take about four days to complete. While Vietnam is still closed to foreign tourists, domestic travellers had been taking advantage of discounted holiday packages. Authorities had confirmed the first community infections since April on 25 July, and another 11 cases linked to a Danang hospital were reported on Monday.
One of the cases was a 17-year-old man residing in Quang Ngai City in the central province of Quang Ngai, who was confirmed to be infected with SARS-CoV-2.
A report from the committee said that on 14 July, he visited the Orthopedic and Physical Rehabilitation Hospital in nearby Danang City to take care of his elder brother. On 22 July, he took a train from Danang to Quang Ngai. As he got a fever, mild cough, shortness of breath, he went for a medical check at the Quang Ngai City General Hospital, where he tested positive for the Coronavirus.
As a result of the confirmed cases, and the previously unseen strains of Covid-19 discovered in the country, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered police to crack down on illegal immigration. Vietnam will now continue to impose strict quarantine measures and carry out an aggressive testing programme as the viral outbreak continues.
This shows that as countries are beginning to re-open for tourists, it is important that good track and trace systems are in place to keep travellers safe and avoid a second wave. Otherwise, the tourism industry will fail to restart safely.