A Vietnamese citizen has her temperature checked at a quarantine centre in Sóc Trăng Province after returning Việt Nam from Taiwan. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — All people entering Việt Nam by commercial flights will be put under quarantine according to three different groups, with each group subject to different COVID-19 testing regulations, according to a draft regulation from the Ministry of Health.

They include a group for people to be put into quarantine centres for 14 days, a group for those to be quarantined at centres for less than 14 days and a group for people who will not have to undergo centralised quarantine.

The draft was discussed at a teleconference between the Ministry of Health and local health departments on Thursday.

People eligible to enter Việt Nam must come from countries and territories that have effectively controlled the pandemic and the list of these countries and territories will be decided by the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Group 1 includes Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who are family members of Vietnamese citizens (parents, spouses, children). They will be subject to centralised quarantine for at least 14 days and will be tested for the virus on the first day of quarantine and the 14th day since their arrival. After completing quarantine, they will continue undergoing medical supervision for the next 14 days.

Group 2 include foreigners who are experts, investors, business managers, skilled workers and their family members entering Việt Nam and staying in the country for more than 14 days; and international students. They will be quarantined at registered hotels for the first seven days and will be tested on the first day of arrival and tested for the second time on the sixth day of arrival. If test negative for the virus on the sixth day, they will be quarantined at their residential areas for another seven days. They will be tested the last time on the 14th day after their arrival.

The third group includes foreign diplomats who will be quarantined at their houses or residential areas (including representative agencies and hotels) for at least 14 days and will be tested on the first day of arrival and the 14th day of quarantine. It also consists of foreign experts who enter Việt Nam to work for less than 14 days and they will be quarantined until they leave the country. They will be tested on the first day of arrival and once every three days later.

The regulation is expected to be issued in early November.

At present, commercial international flights are temporarily cancelled after two flights arrived at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City on September 30 and Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội on September 25, the first commercial flights to arrive since March. — VNS