Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has decided to extend the country’s mandatory quarantine period to 21 days following several cases of people testing positive for COVID-19 after completing their 14-day quarantine.

The 21-day quarantine has been applicable to all international arrivals and direct contacts of COVID-19 patients from Wednesday.

Each quarantined individual will have to undergo COVID-19 tests on the first, 14th, and 20th days of their quarantine stay.

Following their release from quarantine, they will have their health monitored by authorities at their place of residence for another seven days, rather than the 14 days of monitoring stipulated in previous regulations.

Those under monitoring will be tested for COVID-19 a fourth time on the final day of their home quarantine period.

The health ministry had consulted epidemiology and virology experts before making the decision, according to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

Health departments and centers for disease control in localities throughout the country have been tasked with imposing strict prevention and control measures at local quarantine facilities in order to prevent transmission within these venues.

Minister Long also requested all localities review cases of foreigners who recently entered Vietnam and conduct COVID-19 tests on high-risk groups of people such as employees at discos, bars, karaoke shops, and massage parlors.

He also called on the public to continue following the five rules of COVID-19 prevention and control, namely wearing face masks, disinfecting, social distancing, avoiding large crowds, and filling out health declarations.

Vietnam had documented 3,030 COVIDD-19 cases as of Thursday morning, with 2,560 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the health ministry’s statistics.

Sixty-four local infections have been recorded in the country since April 27.

Vietnam recently detected several cases of people testing positive for COVID-19 after completing their 14-day quarantine.

In late April, a Vietnamese national returning from Japan was found to be infected with the novel coronavirus after finishing 14-day quarantine and causing a cluster of infections in the northern province of Ha Nam.

Earlier this week, an Indian expert tested positive for COVID-19 after finishing his quarantine period and returning to his apartment in Hanoi.