Khanh Hoa urges travel firms to help prevent Zika spreading
The Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is calling for local travel companies to lend a helping hand to preventing the spread of the Zika virus after a 64-year-old woman in Nha Trang City was found to contract the virus on April 5.
The department requested travel firms to actively keep themselves informed of Zika infections in and outside Vietnam, take preventive measures as instructed by the Ministry of Health and immediately inform relevant agencies of their guests found to develop Zika-linked symptoms including a fever, a headache, rashes and red eyes.
The department has launched a hotline 0989671115 for reporting on Zika infection suspects.
Speaking at a meeting with the government of Khanh Hoa Province on April 5, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said there could be more Zika infections in the central province in the coming time as it is a popular destination for domestic and foreign tourists.
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The Khanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has not issued a travel advisory in the province, the department’s deputy director Phan Thi Thanh Truc told the Daily on the phone.
Truc said that at the meeting on April 5, the Ministry of Health said the Zika virus is not transmitted through breath or touch, so the department has not released a travel advisory. However, women in their first three months of pregnancy need to be on high alert.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism told provinces and cities on April 5 to keep a close watch on Zika infections and actively provide visitors and companies with updated information about preventive measures.
The ministry on April 5 confirmed the first two Vietnamese had contracted the Zika virus. They are an old woman in Phuoc Hoa Ward in Nha Trang City and a 33-year-old pregnant woman in Thanh My Loi Ward in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2.
Health conditions of the women are stable, Deputy Minister of Health Long said.
