Prevention of COVID-19 at the border gates: Strengthening surveillance

From the beginning of April 2023 until now, the development of COVID-19 pandemic tends to increase in some provinces and cities in the country. In order to promptly detect the infection and protect a “safe zone” at the border gate area of Lang Son province, the international medical quarantine force and functional forces at the provincial border gates have carried out some solutions.

According to the latest information from the Department of Health, the national infectious disease surveillance system has recorded more than 700 new COVID-19 cases across the country from April 5, 2023 to now. In which, in some provinces and cities such as Ha Noi, Lao Cai, Yen Bai… more than 10 cases has been detected at a place. In Lang Son province, the number of cases recorded from March 15, 2023 to April 15, 2023 was 24 (accounting for 68.5% of cases since the beginning of 2023).

An international medical quarantine officer at Huu Nghi International Border Gate guides passengers on entry to the automatic body temperature measurement area

At this time, the number of exit and entry visitors through Huu Nghi International Border Gate also began to increase (from January 8, 2023 to the end of March 30, 2023, there were nearly 210 arrivals and departures), especially, from the end of March 2023 until now, the number of vehicles carrying import and export goods through the province’s land border gates has also increased by nearly 2 times compared to the beginning of March 2023. Statistics from the Management Board of the Dong Dang – Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone show that from the beginning of April 2023 to present, on average, nearly there were 1,100 vehicles carrying import and export goods under customs clearance and about 550 new vehicles carrying goods from inland to the border gate area of the province. Accordingly, the number of drivers and goods owners from the inland area to the provincial border gates every day was about 1,000 people or more.

Dang Viet Truong, Director of the Provincial Center for International Health Quarantine, said: “During the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the situation of importing and exporting goods through provincial border gates, despite the reduction of medical control at the border gate area (from April 27, 2022, according to the regulations of the Ministry of Health, the health quarantine agency at the border gate has suspended requesting medical declaration and the mandatory medical checks for people entering and leaving border gates, as well as suspending the medical control process for drivers and goods owners carrying goods to the border gate area of the province), the health quarantine at border gates is still strictly controlled. Accordingly, the key measure currently being taken by the health quarantine agency to control the disease is monitoring through an automatic measurement system.”

Mr. Ha Anh Phan, Deputy Head of the International Health Quarantine Team at Huu Nghi International Border Gate said: “At Huu Nghi International Border Gate, there are 4 automatic body temperature meters, 100% of passengers on exit and entry must go through this body temperature screening system. All people with a body temperature below 37.20C are free to go, when the meter detects a person with a temperature above 37.50C, it will give a signal and the quarantine officer will guide that person to the medical room and carry out medical examination with specialized equipment.”

In addition to Huu Nghi International Border Gate, at border gates such as Chi Ma, Tan Thanh, Coc Nam, Dong Dang international railway station, the international health quarantine agency has also installed automatic body temperature scanners to control people passing through the border gates. In additional to the entry-exit channel, the medical quarantine team at the border gates is actively implementing 24/24-hour medical quarantine, especially strengthening supervision activities at the customs clearance areas of goods, as well as performing visual monitoring for drivers and goods owners at the parking lots in the border gate area, thereby promptly detecting people with symptoms of cough and fever to apply medical examination and those infected with COVID-19, helping to reduce the risk of disease spread in the border gate area.

According the Center for International Health Quarantine, in recent times, through surveillance, the health quarantine force has also detected a number of cases including drivers and goods owners with signs of flu, but after screening, these cases weren’t infected with COVID-19. This shows that the medical quarantine at the border gates is still strictly controlled, the quarantine force does not miss any suspected cases.

Moreover, the international health quarantine teams at the border gate area also sprayed to disinfect the border gate area and parking lot for goods. This helps to prevent the risk of infection.

At the same time, in order to prevent cross-infection cases in the border gate area, this time, the medical quarantine force at the border gates actively cooperates with the Border Gate Management Center (under the Management Board of the Dong Dang – Lang Son Border Gate Economic Zone) and border guards at border gates to inform drivers and goods owners carrying goods to the border gate area about measures to prevent pandemic.

Major Duong Thanh Tiep, Head of Tan Thanh Border Guard Station, said: “In addition to enhancing security and order in the border area, at the moment, the station also sends officers with some of the Border Gate Management Center and international health quarantine regularly check and request drivers and good owners not to gather in large groups in the border gate area, as well as encourage them to wear masks when talking to other people.

It is known that although there have not been a great number of complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the function of management, inspection, supervision and prevention of infectious diseases, the Center for International Health Quarantine has asked international health quarantine teams at border gates to plan a number of possible situations, so as to proactively and promptly applying measures when some of them occur.