Vietnam’s tight lid on the coronavirus leaves many citizens desperate to return, with illegal border crossings on the rise

‘I was worried about my visa, which was about to expire, and that I wouldn’t be able to return [to Spain] and would have to cut short my study and work, so I postponed my ticket,” said the 26-year-old freelance photographer and manager at a milk tea shop.

This year, however, Khanh has his heart set on reuniting with his family for the Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, next month – just like many of the Vietnamese diaspora who have been deprived of contact with their loved ones due to travel restrictions throughout a pandemic-hit year.

Vietnam sealed itself off from the outside world in March last year in a bid to limit imported cases of Covid-19. Since then, only Vietnamese citizens and a limited number of foreigners – including businessmen and investors – have been granted entry, under strict conditions including mandatory quarantine and coronavirus tests. In September, the government resumed commercial flights to seven Asian destinations – China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand – but domestic carriers are still barred from operating inbound flights.

Its handling of the pandemic has been largely successful – the country has just over 1,500 cases and has recorded 35 deaths so far, while cases continue to tick up in many other countries, and regional neighbours such as Thailand, China and Japan have this year imposed new restrictions to handle fresh outbreaks.

Dr Kidong Park, the World Health Organization representative to Vietnam, said the country had started to move forward to a “safe coexistence with Covid-19” as it aimed to achieve the dual objectives of disease control and economic development.

“Health is an investment, rather than a cost,” Park said, adding that the country should remain vigilant for any new outbreaks.