Vietnam welcomes first visitors to Phu Quoc island after nearly two years

For the first time since Vietnam closed the country's borders nearly two years ago, over 200 foreign tourists landed on the southeast Asian country's island, Phu Quoc, on Saturday. Travellers from South Korea who are properly vaccinated arrived in the country and will be able to spend their vacation in hotel resorts without having to wait the necessary 14-day quarantine period. They were tested upon arrival, and after the findings were negative, they were allowed to participate in activities on the island that required vaccination certificates, such as sightseeing, shopping, and various other activities.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, chairman of Vietnam's Administration of Tourism stated that they are attempting to revitalise their tourism business while gradually reopening and strengthening the economy in a new normal setting. He welcomed the charter flight to the airport. All service workers and 99% of adult Phu Quoc inhabitants have been properly vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the Health Ministry. Next month, children aged 12 to 17 will be vaccinated on the island.

In March 2020, Vietnam blocked its border

Soon after confirming its first COVID-19 case in March 2020, Vietnam blocked its border. Since then, it has only permitted a few international flights per week with foreign experts, diplomats and Vietnamese people returning home. International visitors earlier were required to stay in authorised hotels or government-run facilities for a 14-day quarantine period.

Vietnam is not the first southeast Asian country to allow fully vaccinated travellers to enter the country. At the starting of this month, Thailand eased the travelling restriction allowing the vaccinated travellers to enter its southern island of Phuket before expanding to other places, including Bangkok. Last month, the Indonesian island of Bali opened to visitors with some restrictions, like testing and a five-day hotel quarantine. While Malaysia's Langkawi island was opened under a pilot bubble programme.

96 million people have been fully vaccinated in Vietnam

On the other hand, Vietnam still has a significant number of COVID cases. On Saturday, Vietnam health officials reported 9,518 domestic COVID-19 cases in 60 cities and provinces. HCMC with 1,046, Binh Duong with 669, and Dong Nai with 621 daily cases topped the list. On Saturday, the Ministry of Health reported 107 deaths, including 42 in HCMC, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the country to 23,685, according to VnExpress. Vietnam's 96 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Saturday. Vietnam has registered 10.9 lakh local cases since the pandemic's fourth wave arrived in late April.

(Inputs from AP News)

Image: AP