Quarantine period for foreign arrivals, F1 individuals slashed to 14 days

Quarantine period for foreign arrivals and those who come in close contact with COVID-19 patients is cut from 21 days to 14 days, according to the latest guidance of the Ministry of Health.

After completing 14-day quarantine, the aforesaid people shall be subject to medical surveillance at home or place of residence for another 14 days.

The above policy shall not be applicable to foreign arrivals who enter Viet Nam for less than 14 days and other cases specified by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control or the Ministry of Health.

Viet Nam began to impose 21-day quarantine policy for both foreign arrivals and F1 individuals from May 5, 2021 after several individuals contracted COVID-19 though they had completed 14-day quarantine and tested negative for the virus twice or thrice.

Hospitalization time shortened for asymptomatic COVID-19 patients

The number of daily new COVID-19 infection cases has surged rapidly over the past days, putting pressure on medical facilities, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

To address the issue, the ministry said asymptomatic patients can be discharged from hospitals 10 days after admission if two consecutive RT-PCR tests (24 hours or more away from each other) return negative or show low viral load (cycle threshold – CT ≥ 30).

These cases shall be subject to medical surveillance at home for another 14 days.

For new positive cases with low viral load and without clinical symptoms, they should be admitted to a medical facility for further observation. If RT-PCR tests continue to show low viral load or turn negative for SARS-CoV-2, these cases can be discharged from the facility and subject to medical surveillance at home for another 14 days.

For patients who have recovered and exited hospitals after testing negative thrice, they shall have to monitor their health at home for 14 days as currently regulated. If they test positive again during the 14-day self-isolation period, they would not need to be hospitalized again and local authorities would not need to impose measures to contain a potential outbreak. If these people experience symptoms related to COVID-19, they should immediately contact medical facility for help.