International arrivals at Đà Nẵng International Airport on November 19, 2021, as part of a pilot vaccine passport programme for resuming international tourism. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Lâm

HÀ NỘI — The Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam has agreed with the Health Ministry’s proposal on suspending international flights to and from some African countries due to concerns over the Omicron variant.

The Health Ministry earlier asked the Government to halt flights to and from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Mozambique, as well as halting the issuing of visas for passengers coming from these countries.

However, many other countries have also seen cases of the new highly concerning variant, so there is still a big chance of the variant making its way into Việt Nam on other flights.

So far, Việt Nam’s border remains largely closed, aside from occasional repatriation flights bringing Vietnamese overseas home, and a tentative tourism reopening pilot programme ongoing in five select destinations: Đà Nẵng City, Quảng Ninh, Quảng Nam, Khánh Hoà, and Kiên Giang provinces. All of these flights required the agreement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Defence, and Ministry of Public Security, according to the aviation authority.

Medical quarantine along with travel history declaration will be tightened on approved flights to prevent risks of Omicron spreading into the country.

As of today, Việt Nam has not recorded any COVID-19 cases of the Omicron variant. — VNS