Vietnam will intensify checks in airports and other border crossings following the detection of the XBB subvariant of the COVID-19 strain Omicron, Vietnamese media reported on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2023) Vietnam will intensify checks in airports and other border crossings following the detection of the XBB subvariant of the COVID-19 strain Omicron, Vietnamese media reported on Monday.
The XBB variant was detected in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and the neighboring province of Tay Ninh, the VnExpress newspaper reported.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh warned that a related variant of XBB, XBB.1.5, is causing coronavirus outbreaks in other countries, which means that in the spring there may be a surge in new cases as a result of the Lunar New Year holiday and the weakening of COVID019 restrictions in other countries, the newspaper added.
The minister also urged medical services to step up measures to prevent and combat coronavirus and instructed the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, sports and Tourism to take measures to protect tourists and local residents, the report said.
On Sunday, China opened its border for the first time since 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic started. According to the report, many workers and Vietnamese citizens began returning to Vietnam from China.
