All citizens, foreigners living in Vietnam to provide health declarations

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020
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HÀ NỘI — From Tuesday, Vietnamese citizens and foreigners living in Vietnam will be able to declare their health status via smartphone-based apps co-developed by the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and domestic IT companies.

The two apps – NCOVI for Vietnamese nationals and Vietnam Health Declaration for foreigners in Vietnam – launched on Monday afternoon are now available on Android's Google Play Store and pending approval on the Apple's App Store.

These apps are recommended for all people living in the country to update their health status, helping the healthcare sector proactively control and prevent COVID-19. 

Users can provide personal information and physical conditions on the ‘Universal health declaration’ section on the home screen and update their own data in the ‘health tracking’ section.

“Health declarations for foreigners living in Vietnam is compulsory. The universal health declaration is actually the act of providing information between each person and the healthcare sector,” said Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam at the launch event on Monday.

The NCOVI and Vietnam Health Declaration apps provide official information including a disease map and instructions for emergency situations.

Đam said all information would be strictly protected and used solely for fighting COVID-19.

He called on all people in Vietnam to use these apps to help control the epidemic and enterprises to help upgrade these apps, making them more functional.

Nguyễn Huy Dũng, head of MIC’s Department of Computerisation, said the two apps used two-way verification. Each user will receive a OTP (one-time passcode) to activate the app.

Moreover, NCOVI is linked with the national people’s health database of Vietnam Social Security.

Trần Đắc Phu, a consultant for MoH’s Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, said based on updated information, local medical workers can track people’s health for prompt interventions, especially those in close contact with infected people or returning from disease epicentres. — VNS