Vietnam’s Civil Aviation Authority (CVAA) has proposed to suspend all all flights connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as the nation fights a prolonged Covid-19 wave.
The CVAA has asked Ministry of Transport to stop all regular flights between localities that are under social distancing orders, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, VNExpress reported.
Only special flights are flown on air routes between social distancing localities, the CVAA has proposed. While flights to bring workers back to their hometowns can be considered, it would be necessary for the localities to pick up passengers at the airport to test and quarantine them, it said.
Related: Nearly 18,000 foreigners in Vietnam’s HCMC received first Covid-19 vaccination jabs
As of August 08, all flights from HCMC to Hanoi and many other localities have been suspended so far and there are very few flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.
Many airports in the southern region are implementing social distancing campaigns include Tan Son Nhat International airport, Can Tho, Phu Quoc, Rach Gia, Ca Mau and Con Dao airports. So far, flights from Hanoi to Rach Gia, Ca Mau, Con Dao, Can Tho and Phu Quoc have been suspended,
On Sunday, the authorities of Vietnam’s capital city decided to extend the ongoing social distancing order until August 22 as a response to several Covid-19 clusters being detected in the city.
According to the Health ministry’s report, 5,140 of the newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases most of whom were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some localities.
Also read: Vietnam records an additional 5,155 new Covid-19 cases in the past 12 hours
Ho Chi Minh City continued to report the highest number of new infections in the country. On Sunday, the city also recorded 3,898 new patients, the majority of which are individuals who came into contact with confirmed Covid-19 patients or who were detected in either isolation and locked down areas. Social distancing rules are being further tightened in the city to contain the virus spread.
As of Monday morning, 211,630 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 124,153 in the virus hotspot of Ho Chi Minh City. The outbreak has so far spread to 62 cities and provinces nationwide.
