Vietnam has further eased its border restrictions after dropping a requirement for international arrivals to provide a negative COVID-19 test acquired prior to departure.
The new measure, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on Saturday, came into effect on Sunday and follows a steep decline in the number of COVID-related deaths and hospitalizations in recent weeks. The Southeast Asian nation previously ceased mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals as of 16 March and dropped health declaration requirements from 27 April in a bid to reignite its tourism industry.
Vietnam’s Health Ministry had called for the removal of the test requirement last week, stating, “The proposal to suspend the Covid-19 testing requirement before entry for flight arrivals will fall in line with the rest of the world and ensure consistency between technical units on disease prevention measures for arrivals.”
According to local news agency VNA, Vietnam has administered 216.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccinations so far with 68.7 million people having received two or more shots.
