CAAV proposes suspension of flights from 10 African countries

Vietnam has been free of Omicron so far (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed the suspension of flights, including repatriation flights, from 10 African countries to prevent the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 from entering Vietnam.

According to CAAV Director Dinh Viet Thang, along with banning flights from the 10 countries - Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola and Zambia to Vietnam, passengers who travelled through these countries within 30 days before entering Vietnam should be denied entry into Vietnam.

The agency recommended that the Ministry of Transport ask the Ministry of Health to issue specific guidance on quarantine control over passengers arriving from some countries where Omicron has been found such as the Republic of Korea and Japan.

The Transport Ministry should also ask the Ministry of Public Security to tighten checks at aviation border gates to detect passengers who have travelled through the countries hit by Omicron, the CAAV said.

According to the CAAV, many countries around the world have applied travel restrictions on people from African countries and/or those where Omicron has been discovered  including Israel, EU countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Cambodia./.

VNA