Overseas Vietnamese faces difficult returning during social distancing period
Many people are facing difficulties getting home in Vietnam after returning from abroad due to the social distancing rules
"A staff at the quarantine area gave me the contacts of some bus services but when I called them, they said they would only be able to take me to some places because some localities on the way to Hanoi were imposing social distancing rules. That means I can’t go home from that place," he said.
Do Trong Hai, an overseas Vietnamese who has just returned from Canada is also staying in a resort in Nha Trang City for mandatory quarantine. Hai said that it took a lot of time, money and effort to get a ticket to Vietnam but he was not sure how he could get home now.
"We have to spend at least USD5,500 each to return to Vietnam, including the quarantine fee," he said. "I will complete my quarantine period on September 3 and will be allowed to go home if testing negative for SARS-CoV-2. But I'm not sure whether I will be stopped somewhere that is applying social distancing rules on the way from Nha Trang to Hanoi if I drive my private car. And I don't know whether I will be quarantined for another 14 days upon arrival in Hanoi.
"Nguyen Thi Hang arrived in Nha Trang on August 20 and had booked a flight to return to her hometown in Hai Phong City on September 7. But the ticket agency has informed her that her flight has been cancelled following directions from the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority.
"Now I will be stuck here," she said. "All I can do is to pray for the pandemic to be brought under control soon so that transportation is resumed."
Meanwhile, a representative of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee said that these people returned to Vietnam on commercial flights so local authorities don't arrange transportation for them to their places of residence.
However, Do Trong Hai said that they should be well-informed about the current situation in Vietnam by local authorities upon their arrival. He also proposed that as social distancing rules are being imposed in many places, local authorities should arrange transportation for them to return home.
Sharing the same proposal with Hai, Chien Nguyen added that those who have fully vaccinated should only be quarantined for seven days as instructed by the Ministry of Health.
Vietnamese people on a repatriation flight
Chien Nguyen booked a flight from the US to his home in Hanoi in mid-August. However, due to the flight shortage during the pandemic, he had to switch to a flight that landed in the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa's Nha Trang City. Despite having fully vaccinated against Covid-19, he still had to stay at a local quarantine area for 14 days following the Vietnamese government regulations for virus prevention. After completing the mandatory quarantine period, the man now does not know how to return to his home in Hanoi when almost all means of transportation including trains and flights have been suspended due to the latest virus outbreak.
"A staff at the quarantine area gave me the contacts of some bus services but when I called them, they said they would only be able to take me to some places because some localities on the way to Hanoi were imposing social distancing rules. That means I can’t go home from that place," he said.
Do Trong Hai, an overseas Vietnamese who has just returned from Canada is also staying in a resort in Nha Trang City for mandatory quarantine. Hai said that it took a lot of time, money and effort to get a ticket to Vietnam but he was not sure how he could get home now.
"We have to spend at least USD5,500 each to return to Vietnam, including the quarantine fee," he said. "I will complete my quarantine period on September 3 and will be allowed to go home if testing negative for SARS-CoV-2. But I'm not sure whether I will be stopped somewhere that is applying social distancing rules on the way from Nha Trang to Hanoi if I drive my private car. And I don't know whether I will be quarantined for another 14 days upon arrival in Hanoi.
"Nguyen Thi Hang arrived in Nha Trang on August 20 and had booked a flight to return to her hometown in Hai Phong City on September 7. But the ticket agency has informed her that her flight has been cancelled following directions from the Vietnam Civil Aviation Authority.
"Now I will be stuck here," she said. "All I can do is to pray for the pandemic to be brought under control soon so that transportation is resumed."
Meanwhile, a representative of Khanh Hoa Provincial People's Committee said that these people returned to Vietnam on commercial flights so local authorities don't arrange transportation for them to their places of residence.
However, Do Trong Hai said that they should be well-informed about the current situation in Vietnam by local authorities upon their arrival. He also proposed that as social distancing rules are being imposed in many places, local authorities should arrange transportation for them to return home.
Sharing the same proposal with Hai, Chien Nguyen added that those who have fully vaccinated should only be quarantined for seven days as instructed by the Ministry of Health.
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