The Preventive Medicine Centre at the central coastal province of Quang Ngai on August 18 began conducting health checks on crews from foreign ships at Dung Quat Port in efforts to prevent Ebola virus from entering the country.

The online Nhan Dan newspaper quoted Nguyen Van Luu, chief of the migration section under the provincial Border Guard Command as saying that an average 12-15 foreign ships anchor at Dung Quat every month.

“Even when no case of Ebola infection has been detected so far on foreign ships, the quarantine work has been tightened to prevent the virus from entering the country,” Luu said.

He added that if any crew member on foreign ships is found to carry the virus, the border guard force will monitor the ship while the patient will be carried to qualified local medical facilities for treatment, in line with the plan outlined by relevant agencies in the province.

On the morning of August 18, 23 crew members on a ship from Hong Kong (China) were the first to undergo the check in the form of body temperature monitor at the port.

Vietnam has intensified quarantine at its border gates in an effort to prevent the disease. As from August 15, people from West African countries affected by the Ebola outbreak have been required to sign a medical declaration before entering Vietnam.-VNA