Vietnam suspends visa-free travel for UK and seven other European countries amid coronavirus fears

Visa-free entry for travellers from UK, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden halted until further notice
Vietnam has suspended visa-free travel for citizens from eight European countries
REUTERS
Kit Heren17 April 2020

Vietnam has temporarily suspended visa-free travel from eight European countries over coronavirus fears.

People from the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden will no longer be given visa waivers until further notice, its government said on Monday.

The country already halted visa-free travel from South Korea in late February and Italy earlier this month in an effort to control the spread of the virus.

The Vietnamese government also said it might take the same measures for any country with over 500 confirmed cases or 50 new cases in a day.

Vietnam has had 30 confirmed coronavirus cases
Getty Images

Currently, Vietnam has 30 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 14 new reports on the weekend.

Last week, it was reported that 13 passengers from a flight from London to the country’s capital Hanoi tested positive for coronavirus on arrival. Nine were foreign nationals and seven were British.

Everyone on the flight has been quarantined, as well as over 120 people who may have made contact with them.

13 people from a London to Hanoi flight tested positive for coronavirus
AFP via Getty Images

Meanwhile, two British people are being kept in “prison-like” conditions in Vietnam while being tested for coronavirus.

One of them, Sam Carroll, told The Telegraph: “We are in quarantine and have just been told that even if we don't have it we might have to stay here for two weeks."

He continued: "This place is honestly like a prison. Everything is dirty, the bathrooms and food are awful.

"So far we have only spoken to one nurse who can speak only a little English so we don't know what's going on, and it's hard to ask for things like a bottle of water.

"We are showing no symptoms of the virus and don't feel ill in the slightest."

British health minister Matt Hancock and chief medical officer Chris Whitty
Getty Images

The UK’s confirmed cases of coronavirus has now reached 319 and there have been three deaths.

The government said today that it has accepted that the virus will spread “in a significant way”.

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