Borders under strict control to prevent spread of COVID-19

Border guards in Tay Ninh province on duty for COVID-19 prevention and control (Photo: VNA)

HCM City (VNS/VNA) — Border guard forces and agencies in cities and provinces are strictly monitoring travel through border gates to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The Border Guard Command has set up eight task forces to oversee disease prevention and control at border areas such as Lang Son and Lai Chau. The command has increased the number of personnel at the front lines at main border gates.

At border gates in the northern province of Lang Son, for instance, 103 guards have been added. After the lunar New Year holiday, tents were set up along border guard stations to prevent illegal entry, and more than 100 people connected to illegal entries have been detained.

Border guards in Quang Ninh province have set up 74 sites and eight mobile teams with a total of 495 soldiers on duty day and night at the province’s main border roads.

At Tay Ninh province’s border gates and trails, border guards have strict patrols and will fine violators who try to illegally help people travel through border trails, said Colonel Le Van Vy, deputy head of Border Guard Force, in the province.

People travelling through border gates and trails are required to fill out health declaration forms and stay in quarantine under the Government’s requirements.

Vice chairman of Kien Giang Province People’s Committee Lam Minh Thanh has instructed police and relevant forces to assist the patrol and control of COVID-19 at border gates. The Border Guard Command in the Mekong Delta province must strictly control cross-border activities via trails or rivers, he said.

As many as 1,598 teams with 9,398 guards and other relevant forces are patrolling and controlling travel at border gates and trails throughout the country. They have detained 4,360 people who have illegally crossed through border gates and trails, and have quarantined all of them.

Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, Deputy Minister of National Defence, said that besides strict control at border gates and patrols, border guards should inform people about preventive measures against COVID-19 and the punishment for illegal crossings through border gates and trails.

Border guards have carried out procedures for entry to Vietnam for 137,877 people and for 119, 235 people departing Vietnam./.