Passengers from China asked to fill out health declaration forms

All travellers entering Vietnam from China must fill out health declaration forms at the border gates from January 25 as part of efforts to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

A customs official checks body temperature of passengers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)
A customs official checks body temperature of passengers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)

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Health declaration forms are distributed at all border gates and any visitor showing signs of the virus, such as coughing, shortness of breath or respiratory tract inflammation, will be isolated and subjected to health checks.

And flights between Vietnam and Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the outbreak, have all been grounded.

From January 23, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam cancelled all flights between Vietnam and Wuhan, China.

The authority also said it will not grant new flight licences to airlines on this route.

The authority has mobilised staff to collaborate with medical inspectors to follow the passengers’ health at border gates.

Health officials in Ho Chi Minh City on January 23 revealed two visitors from China were in hospital suspected of suffering from coronavirus.

The pair have been identified as father and son, Li Ding, 66, and 28-year-old Li Zichao.

They were admitted to hospital on January 22 suffering from for pneumonia and later tested positive for corona virus.

According to initial findings, Li Ding, 66, went to Hanoi from Wuhan on January 13, before going to Nha Trang city in central Khanh Hoa province.

His son Li Zichao, 28, who has lived in the Mekong Delta province of Long An near HCM City for the past four months, went to visit him in Nha Trang. Both of them then travelled to HCM City and Long An.

The father got fever on January 17, while the son had similar symptoms January 20.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health said both patients are recovering in Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City.

China has so far confirmed that 41 people have died and 1,287 people infected by the virus across the country.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-like virus has spread across Asia and other countries including the US and France.