Vietnam Reopens to Tourists Amid COVID Surge
Vietnam is facing a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases as it fully reopens its borders to international tourists. Vietnam’s Health Ministry announced 161,479 new COVID cases nationwide on Friday, including 52,000 cases that had been previously detected but not yet added to the national database. The most affected regions, Hanoi and the province of Phu Tho, respectively reported 13,000 and 5,300 confirmed cases Wednesday; both areas are popular tourist destinations.
A rickshaw driver waits for customers in Hanoi. Photo: AP Photo/Hau Dinh
Vietnam originally closed its borders in March 2020, and only partially reopened to tourists last November. On March 15, the country fully reopened its borders for the first time since the pandemic began. Pre-pandemic tourism made up 10 percent of the nation’s economy, and business owners in popular vacation spots have been anxious to reopen since then.
In 2021, international arrivals to Vietnam were down over 95 percent from the previous year. Over 84 percent of the tourists that did travel to Vietnam that year were from other Asian countries. Many of those countries are lifting their own travel restrictions, including South Korea, Thailand, and Cambodia.
“It has been very hard. Business is so slow because there are no foreign tourists,” Tuyet Lien, the owner of a shop selling silk and other souvenir products, told the Associated Press.
In order to combat still-climbing infection rates and encourage travel, the Health Ministry plans to expedite the launch of its digital vaccine passport. The vaccine passport system was piloted in three Hanoi hospitals, and 17 different countries, including the US, have agreed to recognize the passports. 193 million vaccine doses have already been uploaded to Vietnam’s vaccine management system–96 percent of the 200 million doses that have been administered throughout the nation. Nearly 100 percent of Vietnam’s population has received at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
An example of the planned vaccine passport. Photo: VnExpress/Viet Tuan
To get a digital passport, users must submit their vaccine information for review by immunization agencies and authentication by the national database. Information such as vaccines received and doses given will be encrypted into the passport’s QR code, which will be valid for 12 months. Vietnam also currently recognizes COVID-19 vaccination certificate forms from 79 countries.
In the lead-up to the vaccine passport launch, travel regulations to Vietnam remain relatively relaxed. Visitors only need a negative COVID-19 test to enter the country, and can self-monitor for any symptoms for 10 days upon arrival. Visa exemptions have been reinstated, and visas can be issued on arrival similarly to their pre-pandemic status. There is no quarantine requirement.
Passengers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Photo: VnExpress/Quynh Tran
Despite the Health Ministry’s insistence that most Omicron symptoms have been mild and do not require hospitalization, the spike in cases remains a concern for travel. Before the borders reopened, Vietnam’s Deputy Premier Vu Duc Dam asked the Health Ministry to “promptly revise regulations and requirements” for international visitors by March 14; they have not since changed. According to the CDC, Vietnam remains on the no travel list, with “very high” rates of COVID-19.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 8.4 million coronavirus cases and more than 42,000 related deaths reported in Vietnam. Nationwide lockdowns for both schools and workplaces were implemented to various degrees from February 2020 to late 2021.