Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese people livingabroad have been advised to stay calm, practice social distancing and exercisepreventive measures against the COVID-19, an official told the Vietnam NewsAgency on March 25.

They should check frequent updates on the localsituation as well as recommendations by Vietnamese representative missions intheir host countries, said Vice Chairman of the State Committee for OverseasVietnamese Affairs Luong Thanh Nghi.

Besides, they must also cooperate with localauthorities and rigorously comply with local regulations and emergency measuresto curb the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease, Nghi said, addingthat Vietnamese representative missions abroad are ready to support them.

Data shows that about 5.3 million Vietnamesepeople are residing, working and studying in 130 countries and territoriesaround the globe. They include over 300,000 students at all levels of educationand around 600,000 guest workers, mostly in Asia and the Middle East.

Only a handful of Vietnamese people overseashave reportedly been infected with the virus while foreign countries areenforcing various measures to protect their citizens and foreigners, includingthe provision of free diagnostic testing and treatment for infected people, henoted.

Vietnamese expats have been providing greatsupport for one another during this time, the official continued. ManyVietnamese communities living in the Europe, America and Oceania havecontributed to COVID-19 relief efforts by making anti-bacterial masks anddonating medical supplies and food to local governments, hospitals andresidents.

Vietnamese people in Poland, the Czech Republic,Russia and other countries have donated 100,000 face masks as well as handsanitiser and protective gear for people in Son Loi commune, Binh Xuyendistrict in Vinh Phuc province and several hospitals in Hanoi when the outbreakbegan last month, he added.

In light of the rapidly evolving situation regardingCOVID-19, many foreign governments have put in place strict precautionarymeasures, triggering a surge in the number of Vietnamese returning home.

Many people want to stay close to theirfamilies, so it is understandable that Vietnamese people want to be back homefor all those reasons, he said.

However, Nghi advised that at this time,Vietnamese people abroad should remain calm and carefully decide whether theyshould stay back or book flights home since it is the highest risk of infectionwhen travelling on public transports, at airports or on the planes.

Most countries have imposed strict travelrestrictions and many airlines have cancelled flights without notice, leavinghundreds of Vietnamese people stranded at foreign airports, he said, notingthat some groups of people had to take several connecting flights over six daysto get home.

He said thousands of people in Vietnam are onthe frontline in the battle against the virus, and struggle everyday to protectothers and keep the situation under control.

So if the situation is non-essential, peopleshould refrain from travelling home, he said.

“It is also a way to protect yourself and yourfamily and to respond to the call by medical workers and doctors around theworld – ‘We stayed at work for you, please stay at home for us’,” he added.

He further said that to show responsibility forthe community and the country, Vietnamese returnees must comply with Vietnam’sexit and entry rules, fill in health declarations and go into mandatoryquarantine.

He expected that they would contribute to thecountry’s COVID-19 relief efforts through these actions.

As of 10:00am on March 25, a total of 422,614people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with 18,804 deaths.Vietnam has reported 134 confirmed cases, mostly people arriving from abroad,and no fatality./.