Vietnamplus

Ho Chi Minh City's health sector is ready to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays and festival season 2023.

Vietnam lifted the requirement for medical tests at border gates long ago and it is now in control of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, other countries are detecting complicated mutations and rising case numbers and hospitalisations.

Although Vietnam has stopped COVID-19 testing at border gates and shown strong performance in controlling the pandemic, experts held that the country should still stay vigilant against COVID-19 as the pandemic situation has been tense in many countries with the appearance of many new sub-variants.

Singapore will carefully restore air connectivity with China and continue with a cautious approach to ensure passengers have a safe and smooth experience, Transport Minister S. Iswaran said on January 9, a day after China reopened its border for international travellers under new "no quarantine" rules.

Thailand on January 9 rescinded a policy announced recently requiring visitors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

Vietnam recorded 71 new COVID-19 cases on January 9, according to the Ministry of Health.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed a dispatch directing ministers, heads of ministerial-level and State agencies, and chairmen of People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces to strengthen measures to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival and the festive season of 2023.

Thailand has seen its first confirmed case of the XAY.2 variant of COVID-19 but people close to the patient were not infected, the Thai Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Sciences said on January 6.

Chief Representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Vietnam Dr Angela Pratt on January 6 warned that the fight against COVID-19 is not over yet as many people are getting infected, hospitalised, and dead in many countries around the world.

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11, 525,491 with 83 new cases recorded on January 4, according to the Ministry of Health.

The HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases on January 4 said the COVID-19 Omicron XBB variant, first discovered in India in August, has been found in the southern metropolis.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong has emphasised the necessity to strengthen supervision and take more samples for COVID-19 testing at border gates besides maintaining the current pandemic prevention and control measures as usual.

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11, 525,408 with 71 new cases recorded on January 3, according to the Ministry of Health.

The Singaporean Ministry of Health said on December 30 that the city-state is ready to step up border health measures if needed and that it is closely watching the global COVID-19 situation.

The Malaysian Government has been urged to tighten COVID-19 control measures to prevent a possible large-scale spread of the disease when the country welcomes tourists from China.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has revised its forecast for foreign arrivals from 18-20 million to 25 million in 2023 after China eased COVID-19 travel restrictions.

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11,525,144 with 131 new cases recorded on December 30, according to the Ministry of Health.

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11,525,013 with 234 new cases recorded on December 29, according to the Ministry of Health.

Vietnam reported 132 new COVID-19 infections on December 28, according to the Ministry of Health.

On the occasion of the International Day of Epidemic Preparedness (December 27), designated by the United Nations (UN) following Vietnam’s initiative, UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent a message calling on all countries to stand with the largest global organisation’s efforts to ensure the world is equipped and ready to take on the health challenges to come.