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Get Tested or Face Criminal Charges, Saigon Warns 3,000 Da Nang Returnees

If any Saigon resident who visited Da Nang last month fails to complete a health declaration by the end of today, they could face criminal charges.

VnExpress reports that about 3,000 Saigoneers who visited Da Nang, Vietnam's current outbreak epicenter, have yet to declare their health status or get tested. These figures came from the HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and were accurate as of August 11.

City officials had previously ordered all residents who went to the city on the central coast from July 1 to 28 to fill out a health declaration form and get tested for the coronavirus.

According to the news source, many people have either refused to be tested, or signed up for a test and then failed to show up at the assigned testing center.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, the city's chairman, has said that anyone who doesn't report their health status by the end of today, August 14, could face criminal charges, though it is unclear exactly what these charges would be.

About 140,000 people returned to Saigon from Da Nang last month, the vast majority of whom have been tested. Over 600 city residents who have been stuck in the coastal city returned yesterday and today on special flights after being stuck once transport to and from Da Nang was shut down.

As of this writing, Vietnam's COVID-19 death toll has reached 21, while the number of infections is 911, 465 of which are active.

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