Nghe An arranges body temperature measuring machines at Vinh International Airport

In the days after the Lunar New Year 2020, the number of passengers passing through Vinh Airport increased dramatically, with 70 - 90 takeoffs and landings.

According to Vinh Airport, during the peak period of Tet Canh Ty, 8 domestic flights including: Vinh - Saigon, Vinh - Nha Trang, Vinh - Can Tho, Vinh - Ban Me Thuot, Vinh - Pleiku, Vinh - Da Lat; Vinh - Da Nang and Vinh - Hanoi were all packed with passengers. Peak days reached 90 flights with nearly 19,000 passengers in both directions.

At 12 noon on January 31, most airline staff and passengers were aware of the dangerous epidemic and wore masks.

At 12 noon today, a large number of passengers were present at Vinh airport to fly to Saigon. It is known that today alone there were about 30 flights from Vinh to Saigon and vice versa. According to observations, most passengers wore masks, talked little, and lined up in an orderly manner to quickly complete procedures with airline staff.

Ms. Do Hoang Anh from Do Luong, her husband and son were carrying a lot of luggage to Saigon. She, her husband and son were all wearing masks; in her hand she was carrying a bag of medical masks that she had just bought at a pharmacy.

Ms. Anh shared: Recently, I have been following the news on TV and other media and learned about this dangerous epidemic. Although there have been no cases of the epidemic in Nghe An, when traveling by plane and coming into contact with crowded places, I still prepare enough masks to prevent the disease for myself, my husband and children.

Passengers line up to check in and wear masks to prevent disease. Photo: Thu Huyen

Today, the Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control has arranged for staff to set up checkpoints and equipped with body temperature measuring machines at Vinh International Airport to control people passing through. The checkpoint was set up on the first floor. This afternoon, 3 flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Vinh and about 200 passengers were checked for body temperature and symptoms of the disease. According to initial information, no suspicious cases have been recorded.

Vinh Airport has arranged enough medical staff, equipment and ambulance vehicles on duty 24/7 to be ready to coordinate and support with health quarantine agencies and local medical facilities to promptly deploy handling measures when detecting cases of passengers showing signs of acute respiratory infections caused by the new strain of Corona virus.

Mr. Phan Dang Bao Quang - Deputy Chief of Office of Vinh Airport said: On January 24, Vietnam Airports Corporation - JSC issued a directive to implement measures to prevent and control epidemics and promptly control cases of passengers passing through the airport with signs of acute respiratory infections.

We are closely coordinating with health quarantine agencies, airport authorities and relevant units to create favorable conditions for arranging locations for body temperature measuring machines to check passengers' body temperature; arranging temporary isolation areas at airports to be ready to isolate passengers showing signs of acute respiratory infections.

Mr. Phan Dang Bao Quang - Deputy Chief of Office of Vinh Airport

Surveillance checkpoints and body temperature measuring machines to control passersby were just installed on the afternoon of January 31. Photo by Thu Huyen

Next, the Provincial People's Committee also issued Official Dispatch No. 436 on the prevention and control of acute respiratory infections caused by the new strain of Corona virus.

Security staff check in passengers. Photo: Thu Huyen

According to a document from the People's Committee of Nghe An province, the acute respiratory disease caused by the new strain of Corona virus is developing complicatedly in China. This is a dangerous infectious disease transmitted from person to person through close contact or saliva, and there is no specific treatment.

To proactively control and prevent the epidemic, Nghe An province requested the Department of Health to preside over and coordinate with departments, branches; People's Committees of districts, cities and related units to drastically implement measures to prevent and control the epidemic, closely monitor the epidemic situation, and strengthen medical quarantine work at border gates, Vinh International Airport, and seaports in the province.

The Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Border Guard Command; Vinh International Airport; Customs Department; Nghe Tinh Port Joint Stock Company; coordinate with the Department of Health to strengthen medical quarantine work in the management areas. Nghe An province also requires departments, branches, People's Committees of districts, cities and towns to coordinate with the Department of Health to resolutely carry out disease control work; ensure sufficient resources for disease prevention and control activities in the area.