# 885
Shortly after the Xinhua story of Vietnam instituting `quarantines' on visitors from bird flu affected areas appeared, another version of the story has appeared in the Vietnamese papers moderating it considerably.
Instead of quarantining people based solely on where they flew in from (which would be a drastic measure), they are screening passengers from bird flu affected areas for fevers or flu-like symptoms, and isolating any that appear symptomatic.
A far cry from the Xinhua report earlier today.
Vietnam’s southern metro to implement bird flu checks on visitors
The Ho Chi Minh City health watchdog has directed officials at airports and border gates to conduct health checks on travelers hailing from bird-flu hit areas in Vietnam and other nations.
Under an anti-bird flu program issued by the Health Department Tuesday, visitors coming from high bird-flu risk areas would be scrutinized by body-temperature checks.
Those showing signs of the disease’s symptoms are to be isolated and hospitalized while the immediate area is sterilized.
Also on Tuesday, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat urged localities to intensify vaccination measures and hold tight to the strict ban on poultry from infected areas.
With regard to next Tuesday’s Tet Doan Ngo festival, usually reserved for traditional chicken and duck feasts, Phat advised people against eating fowls with unclear origins, or those showing signs of sickness or of having been dead long before being cooked.
The Health Ministry has told hospitals to prepare adequate equipment for fear of possible bird flu outbreak during the festival, held annually on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
Since May, bird flu has struck 19 provinces and cities in Vietnam, 16 of them in the north, two in the Mekong Delta, and one in the central region.
