India travel vaccines

Tourists row boats at Tien Dinh agro-ecological tourist area at Phu Thuan A Commune in Dong Thap province’s Hong Ngu District (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Travel firms and tourism experts have suggested making COVID-19 insurance compulsory for all inbound and outbound travellers as one of the key requirements to welcome foreigners back to Vietnam. In a letter sent to then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc proposing the Government to open the market in a safe and sustainable manner, the Tourism Advisory Council (TAB) stated there should be a roadmap. Accordingly, it is necessary to have policies requiring COVID-19 'vaccine passports' and testing tourists before flights and after arrival at tourist sites. Travel insurance, including medical insurance related to COVID-19, should be compulsory for all foreigners coming to Vietnam and Vietnamese tourists travelling abroad. Vo Anh Tai, vice chairman of TAB and deputy director general of Saigontourist Group, said COVID-19-related insurance would ensure benefits and safety for both travellers, travel firms and local authorities in case of tour delays or cancellations. The TAB suggested the Government and the Ministry of Finance to allow insurance companies in Vietnam to sell COVID-19 travel insurance products. “Medical insurance programmes related to COVID-19 have been offered in some countries. It helps cover expenses on hospitalisation, examinations, treatment and medical care, and medical evacuation and repatriation,” Tai told Nguoi lao dong (The Labourer) newspaper. He also said travel insurance can offset the cost if the trip is affected by the pandemic. Hoang Nhan Chinh, Secretary General of TAB, said that the Law on Tourism required travel companies to buy insurance for tourists during the tours unless they already had insurance for the entire travel period. This insurance is paid to visitors when there are emergencies including illness and accident. However, he said, the tourism industry …

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* Global stocks hit a record high and oil climbed after strong US and Chinese economic data bolstered expectations of a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump. * China is willing to strengthen cooperation with France and Germany to cope with climate change, President Xi Jinping told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese state media reported on Friday. * India pledged on Friday to raise monthly production of its own COVID-19 vaccine about tenfold to nearly 100 million doses by September, as immunisations have slowed in the country despite a surge in new infections. * President Vladimir Putin discussed retaliatory sanctions against the United States on Friday with Russia's security council after Washington hit Moscow with an array of punitive measures, the RIA news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying. * Brazil is in talks with Spain and other countries as hospitals are running out of emergency drugs, its health minister said on Thursday amid reports of the seriously ill being tied down and intubated without effective sedatives. * No decision has been made yet on whether the European Union should sign new contracts for vaccines with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, a French junior industry minister said. * Negotiating teams for Iran and the United States will return home for internal discussions on how to rescue the 2015 nuclear deal, a European Union official said on Friday, after Tehran's decision to ramp up uranium enrichment complicated talks in Vienna. * India on Friday called for a ceasefire in Afghanistan and said it was deeply concerned about targetted killings of people in that country. * Thailand will close schools, bars and massage parlours, as well as ban alcohol sales in restaurants, for at least two weeks starting from Sunday after a jump in cases, a senior official said. * Food prices in West Africa have jumped more than 30% since last year to their highest levels in …

[Read more...] about World News in Brief: April 16

"I have been fully vaccinated with Pfizer vaccine mid-February and I long to go back to Vietnam soon," said Charlie Bowland, a resident of Maryland in the U.S. Bowland's eagerness has been given an edge this month after Vietnamese authorities said three groups might be able to enter Vietnam with a vaccine passport , including Vietnamese stranded abroad, foreign investors, and vaccinated tourists. They said the country's information technology infrastructure for handling Covid-19 vaccine passports was basically ready and fully adapted to international preparations for vaccine passport deployment. Bowland, a veteran and semi-retired insurance agent, has visited Vietnam every year since 2011 to do different charity works on his own. He has made donations to poor people and taught children English in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Da Lat, Phu Quoc. He said he had made many friends and felt like Vietnam was his second home. However, he could not keep to his regular schedule in 2020 because of the pandemic. After getting vaccinated, Bowland sent a letter to Vietnamese embassy in Washington DC to ask to return to HCMC at the end of April. He attached documents showing his health status. "This time I may look at buying property in Vietnam so I can have a longer stay." Bowland said he would be willing to take tests and be quarantined if he can return to Vietnam. Though he has been infected with the virus, he has proof of negative tests and subsequent vaccination. In England, Rebecca Jennings received two shots of the Pfizer vaccine in February. She wants to come back to Vietnam to work as a teacher, she says. Jennings is currently a babysitter. "I miss teaching, I miss a wonderful country with amazing people, weather and food," she said. With a Covid-19 vaccine card, Jennings looked at the chances of her return to Hanoi, but found it would be very expensive at this time. She is now hoping to get back in July or August with a business visa. Jennings thinks …

[Read more...] about Covid-19 protocol no problem, say foreigners keenly awaiting Vietnam return