A health official tests for SARS-CoV-2 from people returning from Đà Nẵng, where a COVID-19 outbreak has occurred. VNA/VNS Photo Đinh Hằng

HCM CITY — Tourists returning from Đà Nẵng to HCM City's Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport will be immediately brought to quarantine areas in their locality for 14 days, according to the centres for disease control and prevention in HCM City and Đồng Nai and Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu provinces.

The Co-ordination Board for Admission of People in the Quarantine Group at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport said that more than 700 domestic tourists want to leave Đà Nẵng, where a COVID-19 outbreak has occurred.

HCM City residents will be taken to quarantine areas in the city, while others will be taken to quarantine areas in or near their respective provinces or cities.

Southern Airport Authorities said the returning tourists will be transported to HCM City or Cần Thơ airports.

Two to three days before their flight, they will be required to provide personal information and their home address so that authorities and relevant agencies in HCM City and Cần Thơ can prepare vehicles to take them to quarantine areas safely.

The Co-ordination Board for Admission of People in the Quarantine Group at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport said these tourists should be tested by healthcare staff for SARS-CoV-2 before they leave Đà Nẵng.

On July 28, Đà Nẵng mandated social distancing and banned vehicles from taking tourists out of Đà Nẵng. The tourists have been required to stay in hotels in Đà Nẵng.

The Đà Nẵng Department of Tourism has published a list of hotels offering preferential prices of VNĐ200,000-300,000 (US$8.6-12.8) per room for two people per night and VNĐ300,000 per room for five people per night. Some hotels with tourists who have not been able to leave the city are not charging fees for a 14-day period.

Đà Nẵng authorities are responsible for arranging flights for these tourists to return to their localities.

Since the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Đà Nẵng in late July, thousands of tourists have departed the city, but many were not immediately brought to quarantine areas. They returned to their homes and called local health centres to make health declarations. If they had symptoms of COVID-19, they were tested at local health centres for SARS-CoV-2 and taken to hospitals for quarantine.

People returning to HCM City who had visited COVID-19 hotspots such as hospitals in Đà Nẵng or had close contact with COVID-19 patients were tested and taken to quarantine areas.

As of Thursday, HCM City had recorded nearly 43,900 people returning from Đà Nẵng.  As many as 30,581 people have been tested. Of these, 17,365 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. Six have tested positive, and the rest are waiting for test results.

The city has eight COVID-19 patients being treated in the city's Hospital for Tropical Diseases. All are in stable condition with no fever, cough or breathing problems. — VNS