Tens of thousands of migrants have left HCM City, Dong Nai and Binh Duong and Long An provinces to return to their hometowns over the past few days after social distancing was eased.
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| Free meals are offered to returnees waiting for COVID-19 tests at a checkpoint in Thap Muoi district, Dong Thap province. |
Tens of thousands of migrants have left HCM City, Dong Nai and Binh Duong and Long An provinces to return to their hometowns over the past few days after social distancing was eased.
For many, the journey was long, but they were supported on the way by local police and voluntary groups.
Between October 1 and 5, the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap saw 23,813 people returning from COVID hotspots in HCM City, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An provinces.
The local authorities mobilised forces to manage traffic flow and assist returnees to complete required procedures.
Most of migrants going home are factory and construction workers as well as private business owners, who were stuck in HCM City and southern localities during the four months of social distancing.
According to the Ministry of Health's latest guidelines, people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered can quarantine at home for seven days once they return from major virus hotspots in the south.
Those who have not been vaccinated must quarantine for 14 days at a centralized facility.
The district’s women association volunteered to cook free meals for the returnees.
On October 5, Dong Thap province's Fatherland Front Committee and other local political social organisations presented 13,500 meals to people in need and in quarantine as well as other essential items and medical equipment worth more than VND1.3 billion.
Among more than 23,000 people returning to Dong Thap over the past days, 130 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Local authorities have prepared 111 centralised quarantine areas in the province to accommodate tens of thousands of returnees.
Deputy Secretary of the Dong Thap provincial Party Committee, Phan Van Thang, said local authorities would welcome the returnees and help them stabilise their lives, which is the responsibility of the whole political system.
The utmost target is to ensure public health and prevent community virus transmissions, he said.
(Source: VNS)
