BANGKOK - People can continue travelling from Singapore to Vietnam despite Hanoi's directive on Tuesday (Feb 25) to suspend entry from all the coronavirus-hit areas in the world.

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in reply to a query by The Straits Times about the temporary entry ban, said: "Currently, Singapore is not determined as an epidemic area."

Vietnam has imposed stringent entry and quarantine requirements in its bid to contain the virus, and is now even considering locking down city streets.

All 16 infected people in the country so far have recovered and been discharged.

To prevent new infections, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued a directive to disallow entry of people "coming from or who have travelled through the epidemic-hit areas".

The notice, uploaded on the Vietnam government's website on Tuesday, referred to "South Korea, Japan, Italy, Iran and some other countries".

Asked for a full list of countries for which this new rule applied, Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond by press time.

Singapore has a total of 98 Covid-19 cases, out of which 69 have recovered. South Korea's tally has crossed 2,300, out of which at least 24 have recovered.

On Tuesday, 18 tourists from the epidemic-hit Korean city of Daegu were flown from Da Nang airport in Vietnam back to South Korea after they refused to be quarantined for 14 days.

Mr Huynh Duc Tho, the chairman of Da Nang People's Committee, said in a statement: "We need to have (these) urgent measures to ensure safety for you and the community."

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In the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City alone, the coronavirus outbreak has slashed tourism revenue by at least US$40 million ($55.8 million), reported local media outlet VN Express.

Wary of inflicting unnecessary damage to its tourism industry, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on Feb 16 rebuked the Quang Ninh provincial government for turning away Italian cruise ship Aida Vita, which had been scheduled to dock in Ha Long port.

The ship subsequently cancelled all other port visits in Vietnam.