PM Phúc chairs a meeting with the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Friday. —VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on Friday asked for increasing repatriation and commercial flights to bring back Vietnamese citizens and welcome foreign experts to Việt Nam.

While chairing a meeting with the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Friday, he highlighted the importance of border control and quarantine upon arrival.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has worked with relevant agencies to bring back nearly 14,000 Vietnamese citizens on 55 repatriation flights, he said, asking relevant agencies to continue to repatriate Vietnamese citizens stranded overseas, bring foreign experts, students, managers and skilled workers to Việt Nam as well as take Vietnamese labourers to work overseas.

He requested a repatriation flight to immediately bring back home 219 Vietnamese labourers working in Equatorial Guinea. As many as 112 of them reportedly tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and are under treatment in Equatorial Guinea.

The patients are working at Sendje Hydropower Plant in Littorial Province under the contracts between Lilama Company, CM Vietnam Company, Tân Đại Lợi Investment, Production, Trading and Service Co., Ltd and contractor Duglas Alliance Co., Ltd from the UK.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs requested the three employers to work with the project’s investor and contractor to suspend work of those infected labourers and take preventive measures.

The ministry has proposed a repatriation flight and quarantining the labourers in accordance with regulations. Flight expenses will be covered by employers and the contractor.

During the meeting, PM Phúc allowed the establishment of safe zones at border gates to welcome foreigners who come to Việt Nam to negotiate and sign contracts. All of them will have quick COVID-19 tests.

He asked ministries of national defence, foreign affairs, health and transport to work together to study resuming flights on key air routes to Tokyo (Japan), Seoul (South Korea), Guangzhou, Taiwan (China), Vientiane (Laos), Phnom Penh (Cambodia). — VNS