The information was given by Vietnamese Ambassador in the US Ha Kim Ngoc who joined an online meeting between Vietnamese representative agencies in the US with the Vietnamese Student and Youth Association on Covid-19-related issues.
The Covid-19 outbreak in the US has caused some educational institutions in the country to temporarily close, causing difficulties for Vietnamese students. Many lack accommodation, while several others were stranded at airports trying to return to Vietnam. Vietnamese students in the US also face the risk of being discriminated as the Covid-19 originated from Asia.
Ambassador Ha Kim Ngoc advised Vietnamese citizens to keep calm and strictly conform to the US regulations on virus prevention and control and should stay there if possible.
According to the ambassador, they need to quickly contact Vietnamese representative agencies in the US for help in necessary cases.
The embassy has asked US agencies to have measures to protect the rights of Vietnamese citizens in the country, including more than 30,000 students.
Regarding the question about sending flights to the US to take Vietnamese citizens back to Vietnam, Ngoc said that the Vietnamese government had considered measures for this based on the capacity of local quarantine areas and the pandemic situation.
Ngoc in the online meeting with the Vietnamese Student and Youth Association
Until now, the embassy and other Vietnamese representative offices in the US have received applications from around 1,000 Vietnamese citizens wanting to return to Vietnam. The information has been sent to Vietnamese agencies for consideration.
At an online press meeting on April 9, Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said that Vietnamese agencies abroad have assisted nearly 1,500 nationals who were stranded at overseas airports to return to Vietnam. In the coming time, the agencies would propose measures to prioritise the repatriation of Vietnamese citizens, including the elderly, the sick and people under 18 years of age.
