HOTELS REPURPOSED AS QUARANTINE PLACES FOR FOREIGN EXPERTS

Last month, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee proposed to the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security to consider and support the entry of 437 foreigners from 100 agencies, organisations, and businesses to work in Ho Chi Minh City. Among them were 16 investors, 304 technical experts, 37 skilled workers, 51 business managers, and 29 relatives of the above.

Ho Chi Minh City has decided to choose eight hotels with 3- to 5-star standards in the districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and Tan Binh with a total of 1,485 rooms to function as quarantine places. The smallest hotel among these has 77 rooms and the biggest has 350 rooms.

The eight hotels are Holiday Inn Hotel, BIS Saigon Aiport Hotel, Bat Hotel, Des Arts Saigon Hotel, Le Meridien Saigon Hotel, IBIS Saigon South Hotel, De Nhat Hotel, and Norfolk Hotel.

In order to prevent any spread of the coronavirus, Ho Chi Minh City Health Department will guide the hotels according to the regulations for COVID-19 prevention, and coordinate with the relevant units to intensify the periodic and irregular inspections and supervision of the locations chosen.

Foreign workers like experts and managers entering Vietnam must be isolated at concentrated medical facilities or isolated areas. Enterprises are responsible for paying all medical expenses and other related fees to the isolation for them.

In Hanoi, some 3- to 5-star hotels, such as Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, Muong Thanh Xa La, InterContinental West Lake, Crowne Plaza, and Hoa Binh are also on the list of concentrated isolation points for foreign experts, skilled workers, and foreign diplomats to work in Hanoi. Recently, the Hanoi People’s Committee has promulgated additional regulations on the establishment of a paid isolation facility for experts at the Binh An 3 Hotel, Minh Phu commune, in Soc Son district.

In addition to the two major cities, a number of other localities have organised paid isolation areas for foreign experts. As such, Bac Ninh province has welcomed nearly 3,000 experts and foreign workers. According to the director of Bac Ninh’s Department of Health, the province has not yet to charge a separate quarantine fee for foreigners, but businesses will choose the hotel to be used as a quarantine area, with the province supporting the pandemic prevention measures.

In other localities such as Haiphong, Bac Giang, and Vinh Phuc, foreign experts will be proactively selected by the company which selects isolation locations and pays for accommodation based on the list of locations assessed by the city. Haiphong does not allow people to stay in hotels in the inner city. Meanwhile, Vinh Phuc province has just granted certificates for 146 invited foreign experts to work in the city.

In Thai Binh province, the three centralised fee-collecting locations are Dieu Linh Hotel, Thai Thuy District Political Training Centre, and Viet Village Hotel and Restaurant Complex. Foreigners previously staying at these establishments have been satisfied with the facilities.

Source: VIR