Anyone entering vn these days?

Arnaud wrote:

Hey all,

I live in Vietnam, I've been in Australia for two weeks, and I'm supposed to go back this Friday.

To the best of my knowledge, there's no reason I'll be quarantined as I don't come from Shengen area. But I'm European and it's not 100% clear if it matters. Also, I heard stories like, if ever only one person on the flight shows COVID-19 symptoms, the VN authorities will quarantine all the passengers for 14 days.

As you can guess I'm not too keen on the idea, and at this point I consider staying in Australia until the whole thing cools down a bit.

And I'm wondering if any of you returned to VN these days, and have success stories to share. Or maybe tell us how the quarantine looks like, if ever you have 3G coverage and battery in your phone...

Please share your story

There is no reason for optimism on any of the points that you raised.

Please view this sticky thread for some more current information:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=888733

Also yesterday the official government notices that come out in our cell phones here listed eight different flights that had at least one person who tested positive.

The notice said that every person on board all of those lights will be going into quarantine.

If you notice the email from the US Embassy (at the link I shared) quoting the new policies here, it definitely seems that virtually everyone who comes into the country now who isn't a native Vietnamese person is going to go into quarantine.

Even the native Vietnamese citizens are going to have a difficult time getting around it  and be allowed to self quarantine.

And it's a terrible time to be a foreigner arriving here.

All of the official notices that I've seen have made a special point of mentioning how people should keep a close eye on foreigners.

I regret there's no better news for you of which I'm aware

If you don't have to leave Australia for any reason, I would suggest laying low. No reason to go to VN and be trapped in an airplane full of people you don't know and may have the virus w/o knowing. If you must go to VN, just be prepared to be quarantined when you get there and if you're not quarantined, then count yourself lucky. Just make sure if you have a layover, that particular city isn't one of the ones you need to be quarantined if you land there.

I'm surprised that the US is not on the list of banned countries with the horrendous lack of testing.

> If you don't have to leave Australia for any reason

Well I'm supposed to go back to work, same for my wife. If we stay in Australia it's unpaid leave, and we burn cash paying for accommodation...

Perhaps you should have thought things out before you left??????
Good luck to you, u may need it. If someone on the plane tests positive, you will be in a bad situation.
My hotel in Hanoi, and dozens of others were shut down because of other passengers on the plane being exposed to a positive person. Quite an eerie feeling seeing staff strip rooms bare, then asking the reception what is going on. Only to be told, when you leave sir, our hotel is closed. Would have been nice to know before I checked in.
On a positive note, the Vietnamese have done what I beleive is an outstanding job.hence low numbers off infected people.
Speaking to Canadians returning to Canada from Italy a while back, weren't asked a single question upon entry into Canada.disgraceful!
I've been told by the Canadian government to get home asap, can't get ahold of my airline in any way.
Last flight change they had me in Seoul airport for 3 days. I've been abandoned here.
Bought a new ticket for $1 k and leave tomorrow. Sister meeting me at the airport, truck stocked with groceries etc, to self quarantine for 14 days at the summer cottage.
Best wishes to everyone, good luck.

Canman62 wrote:

Perhaps you should have thought things out before you left??????
Good luck to you, u may need it. If someone on the plane tests positive, you will be in a bad situation.
My hotel in Hanoi, and dozens of others were shut down because of other passengers on the plane being exposed to a positive person. Quite an eerie feeling seeing staff strip rooms bare, then asking the reception what is going on. Only to be told, when you leave sir, our hotel is closed. Would have been nice to know before I checked in.
On a positive note, the Vietnamese have done what I beleive is an outstanding job.hence low numbers off infected people.
Speaking to Canadians returning to Canada from Italy a while back, weren't asked a single question upon entry into Canada.disgraceful!
I've been told by the Canadian government to get home asap, can't get ahold of my airline in any way.
Last flight change they had me in Seoul airport for 3 days. I've been abandoned here.
Bought a new ticket for $1 k and leave tomorrow. Sister meeting me at the airport, truck stocked with groceries etc, to self quarantine for 14 days at the summer cottage.
Best wishes to everyone, good luck.

Good luck and wish you well. Be safe.

Canman62 wrote:

Bought a new ticket for $1 k and leave tomorrow. Sister meeting me at the airport, truck stocked with groceries etc, to self quarantine for 14 days at the summer cottage.
Best wishes to everyone, good luck.

All I got out of that is "going to the cottage".  Many people won't understand.  I'm jealous.  Good luck my friend.

Hey guys,

So I decided to go back to VN and give myself 2 weeks of holidays in a random dormitory.

Leaving Australia was not easy: tigerair canceled our internal flight Melbourne-Sydney at the last moment, we still managed to be in Sydney on time, however we couldn't board the flight Sydney-Saigon due to complications with baby double nationality (hence two passeports).

The Jetstar lady tried to let us down with no solution, then tried to sell us an upgrade to business class for a few thousands dollars, then finally managed to reschedule us to another flight, for no charge.

So we flew back to Melbourne, then on Saturday we could board a direct flight Melbourne-Saigon (there was about 30 empty seat in there, I was the only westerner apparently).

Arrival in Saigon proved more difficult than expected. They didn't accept the health check paper that we filled in the plane, we had to fill the online form (easy).

Suddenly my visa exemption (valid until 2022 as I'm married with a VN) had no value, and the people there said only a resident card would be accepted. And only until midnight, after that it's completely close to foreigners apparently.

That part was the most stressful, but after talking with another official, it was OK, he accepted the visa exemption.

Then another official tried to block us for the same reason, then tried again with different excuses, he only wanted to make it difficult.

Needless to say, without a VN wife I probably couldn't have passed the border. She handled all the discussions.

Then we crossed the border, hit our checked luggage, then came a kind of "passport dance", where you have to hand your passeports, and they re-appear later on a table with another thousand passeports, all in an apparent mess, and you wait until you're called. Many people waiting, for a very long time. No air-con or fan in the airport, of course, due to covid19, so very hot in there.

In the end we hopped on a bus and now we just arrived in a dormitory in Thu Duc. We were lucky and didn't have to wait long, thanks to my difficulties with the visa, and then thanks to baby, we could be prioritized.

Now is the start of 2 weeks of quarantine. Holidays extension.

Arnaud wrote:

Now is the start of 2 weeks of quarantine. Holidays extension.

Thank you for sharing your story.  The difficulty you encountered with the VEC was/is legitimate, but it shouldn't be in effect before 0:00 today.  If you arrived before that time, you shouldn't be stopped, even without your wife.  The officers must be zealous in their upholding the regulations, which actually is not a bad thing in this climate, only unfortunate that you were the subject of their eagerness.

Please keep us posted with the condition inside the isolation facility.  I've heard both positive and negative comments, I'm thinking it must be the luck of the draw.

Arrived at the dormitory. Run down and dirty, no need to say more.

Most of the people that were in our batch won't even have a room anyway, they will probably sleep in the hall until they're sent somewhere else.

Arnaud,  Did they offer you a choice to pay to stay?  See attached link.  I have no idea on cost but might be worth looking into, if only to have a family with baby more comfortable.

https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/202 … 53599.html

My wife asked around but she was told that it was not possible, that they don't offer this option.

As we were told in the airport, no foreigner is allowed to enter the country anymore, starting March 22. I was among the last ones:

https://m.sggpnews.org.vn/national/viet … 86153.html

SteinNebraska wrote:

Arnaud,  Did they offer you a choice to pay to stay?

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" however a little extra cash works wonders in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 

SteinNebraska wrote:

Arnaud,  Did they offer you a choice to pay to stay?  I have no idea on cost but might be worth looking into, if only to have a family with baby more comfortable.

Arnaud wrote:

My wife asked around but she was told that it was not possible, that they don't offer this option.

THIGV wrote:

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" however a little extra cash works wonders in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 

In the beginning, the hotels and resorts were an option presented to foreigners who were willing to pay.  Now, they're available when they're available.  (There are 103 properties that were voluntarily lent to the government for this purpose.)

When the last group of college students were quarantined, two buses were sent to drive them to the facilities.  One of the busses went to the hotel, the other to the dormitory.  None of the group members had any kinkling of their destination beforehand.

What I heard is that hotels and resorts volunteered to be turned into quarantine centers, and then it made it to the news. However it seems that the government never approved such thing. So it turns out to be kind of fake news.

We also heard that there is way to little hotel rooms available in comparison to the number of people willing to pay. So the few hotels / resorts that do quarantine (if ever they exist) are already booked out. No chance to get there.

Also, during your quarantine time, you can't be moved around in a taxi, but instead it would require an ambulance and plenty if extra care, as you're considered as potentially contagious. So basically, if you don't get into one of these legendary hotels straight from the airport, then you'll probably never get there.

Ciambella wrote:

SteinNebraska wrote:

Arnaud,  Did they offer you a choice to pay to stay?  I have no idea on cost but might be worth looking into, if only to have a family with baby more comfortable.

Arnaud wrote:

My wife asked around but she was told that it was not possible, that they don't offer this option.

THIGV wrote:

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" however a little extra cash works wonders in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. 

In the beginning, the hotels and resorts were an option presented to foreigners who were willing to pay.  Now, they're available when they're available.  (There are 103 properties that were voluntarily lent to the government for this purpose.)

Like visa extensions at 2.5-6x the 'pre-corona' price? 

This article, in VN, fresh from yesterday.

https://m.thanhnien.vn/thoi-su/nguoi-ca … 99608.html

It even mentions the price. It says that one guy is isolated in Phuong Nam resort and pays around VND 10.8 millions for the 14 days of quarantine. Sounds like a bargain, only problem is that there was no such option for us, when we were asking around at the airport. Mind the gap between what's in the news and what happens in real life.

When the last group of college students were quarantined, two buses were sent to drive them to the facilities.  One of the busses went to the hotel, the other to the dormitory.  None of the group members had any kinkling of their destination beforehand.

That sounds very odd. Quarantine centers are free, and hotels are a kind of upgrade that you have to pay for, if you decide to go for this option.  At least, that's what's in the news, see the link posted by SteinNebraska above.

What you say here seems to be different, more like a hotel that was requisitioned to be turned into a quarantine center, not a "I-go-to-the-resort" upgrade.

Arnaud wrote:

What I heard is that hotels and resorts volunteered to be turned into quarantine centers, and then it made it to the news. However it seems that the government never approved such thing. So it turns out to be kind of fake news.

We also heard that there is way to little hotel rooms available in comparison to the number of people willing to pay. So the few hotels / resorts that do quarantine (if ever they exist) are already booked out. No chance to get there.

Also, during your quarantine time, you can't be moved around in a taxi, but instead it would require an ambulance and plenty if extra care, as you're considered as potentially contagious. So basically, if you don't get into one of these legendary hotels straight from the airport, then you'll probably never get there.

The info you received is incorrect.  The fake news is real.  These are *some* of the hotels currently house quarantined people: 

Cần Giờ Resort
Phương Nam Resort (no room charge)
Mangrove Hotel Cần Giờ
Thái Dương
Tân Thái Dương
Tâm Tâm
Hotel Khánh Vân


Here's the video showing Hotel Hon Ngoc Phuong Nam being converted to a quarantine facility:

Phuong Nam Pearl Resort

There are many hotels in Districts 1, 3 and 8 registered to serve as quarantine accommodations, but all were rejected because of their locations. The accommodations must be far from city center and the area must be sparsely populated in order to limit negative impact to the neighbourhoods.

The last point of your comment is correct: register for those accommodations must be made at the airport, but that doesn't mean the request will be automatically accepted. 

First, the most isolated accommodation would be the first on the list, and the traveller must agree to the location (he must find his own way back to the center or wherever he wants to go after being released so out in the boondock may not be his cup of tea). 

Second, the traveller must agree that if he changes his mind at any point into the quarantine period and wants to move elsewhere, he must recommence the 14-day period anew. 

Third, the owner of the accommodation has the last word on the acceptance so it's a toss of the dice.

Arnaud wrote:

What you say here seems to be different, more like a hotel that was requisitioned to be turned into a quarantine center, not a "I-go-to-the-resort" upgrade.

Precisely.  It's not an upgrade from the military camp or the dormitory.  It's not automatically presented to every traveller because it's not a signature item on the menu.

All hotel owners in the program willingly gave up their properties, retrofitted them to the government's requirements, subjected themselves and their staff to strict training period to be a special kind of health care personnel, and agreed to be inspected by the Ministry of Health at any given time. 

The hotel must be in the right locations (not in the center, not in populated area), must have enough staff, and must adhere to all new rules and regulations.  Foremost, the hotel cannot accept any regular guests and must become a restricted building. 

Even though the quarantined guests pay for the room and services, they don't have the freedom to walk around the property or using the amenities.  They still have to be confined in their rooms (private or shared).  The difference is in the comfort of the bed -- mattress instead of bed mat, perhaps larger space, and hopefully better food.

Thanks for providing more details Ciambella.

The last point of your comment is correct: register for those accommodations must be made at the airport, but that doesn't mean the request will be automatically accepted.

The issue is that it was not possible to make this request when I was at the airport. There should be a form to fill, and this form was not available at the airport. Some staff never heard about it, other said there was no such form, or that they didn't receive any official directive regarding that, or something similar.

And now in the quarantine center, I've seen some guys walking around with this form (that they manage to get somehow), but to no avail, none of the staff will take it.

Now let me quote the information given at:
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/202 … 53599.html

> At airports and border gates, it is the responsibility of the medical quarantine force to notify incoming passengers of the registration for quarantining at hotels

> Personnel at free-of-charge quarantine camps are responsible for notifying quarantined people of the pay-to-stay option as well as procedures to register for the service.

From my experience, none of this turned out to be true.

The difference is in the comfort of the bed -- mattress instead of bed mat, perhaps larger space, and hopefully better food

And... the price? Quarantine centers are free, while hotels and resorts turned into quarantine centers are not free. That's why I don't understand your story of a bus ending in a hotel, without the passenger knowing about it. Unless this hotel doesn't charge customers maybe, that must be what you meant.

Why the f**k don't they let you just take the test and get a negative result instead of being f**king quarantined for 2 weeks?

hyagly256 wrote:

Why the f**k don't they let you just take the test and get a negative result instead of being f**king quarantined for 2 weeks?

There must be a period between contracting the disease and giving a positive test result which indicates shedding of the virus.  Unless there is a very firm handle on that time gap, the longer quarantine must be justified.  The 14 day quarantine is in effect for all travelers to Hawaii as well.  This in not only a Viet thing.

Arnaud wrote:

And... the price? Quarantine centers are free, while hotels and resorts turned into quarantine centers are not free. That's why I don't understand your story of a bus ending in a hotel, without the passenger knowing about it. Unless this hotel doesn't charge customers maybe, that must be what you meant.

I only translated a conversation via cellphone text between two students, one in the dormitory and the other in the hotel.  They were on separated buses.  The one in the hotel said he had no idea how he ended up there but promised to ask the staff when he had a chance. 

I don't know if he was at Phương Nam Resort, but if he was, then yes, Phương Nam Resort doesn't charge for room.  The owner turned his property over to the government permanently.

hyagly256 wrote:

Why the f**k don't they let you just take the test and get a negative result instead of being f**king quarantined for 2 weeks?

Also, they do run tests but only on people with symptoms.  At this time, there are many symptoms that would lead to a mandatory test: fever, cough, loss of balance, shortness of breath, lost sense of smell, lost sense of taste.

How many people died from this pandemic in Vietnam? A bit over-reaction. Give it another month and things will be back to normal and they will be begging for everyone to come back to Vietnam.

Give it another month and things will be back to normal

A month? I think you're a bit over optimistic. The covid is spreading world wide, and will probably be around for months, maybe years.

But I don't think VN can sustain what they're doing now (mass quarantine and such) much longer. At some point they'll have to re-open the borders and let people in again, otherwise it will hurt the economy too much.

Now most countries in the west are doing the lock down at the same time. I guess that re-opening the borders and resuming  international flights will also happen at the same time for most western countries. And at this time, the assumption is that enough population will have been exposed to the covid, and as a consequence build up immunity, so that the rest of the epidemic can be handled by the healthcare system without too many deaths. (yes, this makes the assumption that those who are infected by covid gain immunity, and I don't think anybody is sure about that, but it's the most likely scenario).

So when all countries re-open the borders, what will Vietnam do? Because the exposure of their population to covid is pretty much zero if you believe the official numbers, meaning that the supposed immunity rate of the population is also zero.

If they open the borders, covid cases will surge. If they keep it close it hurts the economy. I don't know how they can keep on containing the epidemic. But one thing for sure, it will take more than a month to sort things out.