Border localities must exert efforts to tackle illegal entry: Deputy PM

HCM City (VNA) – Border localities need to ensure quarantine and free COVID-19 testing for Vietnamese citizens returning from abroad so as to prevent illegal entry, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam made the request during an in-person and online meeting with HCM City and 10 localities bordering Cambodia on April 23.

Noting that COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in Cambodia and other countries in the region, Dam, who is head of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, urged the localities to tighten regulations, especially sparing no efforts in tackling illegal entry via road and maritime transport.

The Government is calling on Vietnamese citizens abroad to refrain from travelling and comply with local guidelines on COVID-19 prevention and control. If the citizens wish to return home, they need to make declaration with relevant agencies so that the agencies can provide the best possible support while ensuring pandemic prevention measures, he underlined.

The Deputy PM asked local authorities to encourage those who illegally return on fishing vessels to contact relevant agencies and make declaration.

Localities were instructed to tighten supervision along the country’s borders and border gates, especially via crossings, trails, and maritime transport.

They also need to impose heavy fines on illegal migrants and encourage residents to report violations, as well as ensure safety in concentrated quarantine facilities.

At the meeting, representatives of the localities reported recent activities in preventing COVID-19 and illegal immigration at border regions./.