Vietnam halts visa-free travel for Britain, 7 EU countries

Hanoi, March 11 Vietnam will temporarily suspend the visa waiver program for nationals of Britain and seven European Union countries from Thursday as part of the efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the community.

People from Britain and seven countries of Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Germany, France and Spain will no longer be granted 15-day visa-free entry, Xinhua news agency reported.

Vietnam has notified the eight countries about its temporary halt and will continue to cooperate with international countries, organisations and partners in preventing and tackling the epidemic.

Earlier, the country suspended a same visa waiver program, which allowed nationals of eligible countries to be able to stay in Vietnam for up to 15 days, for South Korea and Italy.

The country has confirmed 35 infection cases as of Wednesday with 19 reported in the recent six days since Friday.

( With inputs from IANS )