Decree No. 101/2010/ND-CP provides detailed regulations on the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases regarding the application of medical quarantine measures, compulsory medical quarantine, and special disease control measures during epidemic periods.

DECREE

DETAILING IMPLEMENTATION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE LAW ON PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES REGARDING APPLICATION OF HEALTH ISOLATION MEASURES, FORCED HEALTH ISOLATION, AND SPECIAL DISEASE CONTROL DURING OUTBREAK PERIODS

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;
Based on the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases dated November 21, 2007;
Considering the proposal of the Minister of Health,

DECREE:

Chapter 1.
HEALTH ISOLATION, FORCED HEALTH ISOLATION

Article 1. Application of health isolation measures

1. Health isolation at home shall be applied to the following cases:

a) The subject specified in Clause 1, Article 49 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases residing in areas with infectious diseases, except for subjects who are patients with group A infectious diseases and certain group B infectious diseases as defined by the Minister of Health (hereinafter referred to as certain group B infectious diseases);

b) Persons departing from or passing through areas with group A infectious diseases and certain group B infectious diseases;

c) Persons who have come into contact with patients with group A infectious diseases and certain group B infectious diseases.

2. Health isolation at healthcare facilities shall be applied to the following cases:

a) The subject specified in Clause 1, Article 49 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases receiving medical treatment at healthcare facilities and patients with group A infectious diseases and certain group B infectious diseases residing in areas with infectious diseases;

b) Persons being subject to health isolation measures as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of this Article but showing signs of developing infectious diseases.

3. Health isolation at border gates shall be applied to the following cases:

a) Persons, means of transport, goods exiting, entering, or transiting Vietnam, exported, imported, or transiting goods that have been declared by the transport vehicle owner or there is clear evidence indicating that the transport vehicle, persons, or goods carry pathogens of group A infectious diseases;

b) Persons departing from or passing through areas with group A infectious diseases and certain group B infectious diseases exiting, entering, or transiting Vietnam.

4. Health isolation at other facilities or locations shall be applied to the following cases: the number of persons exiting, entering, or transiting Vietnam as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article exceeds the capacity of border gates to accept isolation, or the number of infectious disease patients exceeds the capacity of healthcare facilities in areas with infectious diseases.

Article 2. Competence, form of decision, and duration of application of health isolation measures

1. Competence to decide on the application of health isolation measures:

a) The Head of the Disease Control Steering Committee decides on the application of health isolation measures at home or at healthcare facilities for the subjects specified in Clause 1, Point b Clause 2, and Clause 4 of Article 1 of this Decree;

b) The head of the healthcare facility decides on the application of health isolation measures at healthcare facilities for the subjects specified in Point a Clause 2 of Article 1 of this Decree;

c) The head of the border gate management agency decides on the application of health isolation measures for the subjects specified in Clause 3 of Article 1 of this Decree.

2. The decision on the application of health isolation measures shall be made in one of the following forms:

a) Issuing a decision on the application of health isolation measures for each individual subject required to undergo health isolation measures;

b) Issuing a decision approving a list of cases subject to health isolation measures;

c) Directly approving on the list of cases subject to health isolation measures.

3. Duration of application of health isolation measures:

a) The duration of applying health isolation measures shall be decided by the person with competence as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article but shall not exceed twenty-one days, starting from the date the decision on the application of health isolation measures takes effect. For health isolation measures at border gates, the duration of applying health isolation measures shall not exceed two days, starting from the date the decision on the application of health isolation measures takes effect;

b) In case the period for applying health isolation measures has expired but the subject undergoing health isolation measures has not recovered from the illness or has not been handled according to Clause 3, Article 36 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, the period of isolation must be extended.

The decision to extend the period of health isolation measures is ten days, starting from the date the decision takes effect.

Article 3. Procedures for applying home medical quarantine measures

1. Within three hours from the time of identifying individuals falling under the provisions of Clause 1, Article 1 of this Decree, the Head of the Commune Health Station shall prepare a list of cases requiring application of home medical quarantine measures and report to the Head of the Commune Disease Control Committee for review and approval.

2. Within one hour from receiving the request from the Head of the Commune Health Station, the Head of the Commune Disease Control Committee must decide on approving or rejecting the list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures. In case of rejection, the reasons must be clearly stated.

3. Within three hours from the approval of the list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures, the Head of the Commune Health Station shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the individual subject to medical quarantine measures and their relatives about the application of such measures, while also notifying the local police station, ward chiefs, village chiefs, hamlet chiefs, headmen, village chiefs, ấp chiefs, phum chiefs, sóc chiefs to coordinate in supervising the implementation of medical quarantine measures;

b) Organizing the implementation of health monitoring and supervision measures for individuals subject to medical quarantine measures;

c) Reporting and proposing to the Commune Disease Control Committee on measures to minimize the risk of infection spreading from quarantined individuals to the community.

4. In case individuals subject to medical quarantine measures show signs of developing infectious diseases, the Head of the Commune Health Station shall be responsible for reporting to the Head of the Commune Disease Control Committee for consideration and decision on applying medical quarantine measures at healthcare facilities.

5. After accepting the individual, the head of the department or ward of the healthcare facility where the individual is being treated shall be responsible for:

a) Organizing the implementation of isolation and care, treatment for the patient;

b) Notifying the Head of the Commune Health Station about the condition of the individual subject to medical quarantine measures.

6. Upon receiving notification from the head of the department or ward of the healthcare facility where the individual is being treated, the Head of the Commune Health Station shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the cancellation of the application of medical quarantine measures if notified that the individual does not have an infectious disease;

b) Preparing a list of individuals who have come into contact with the individual subject to medical quarantine measures and implementing preventive and control measures if notified that the individual has an infectious disease.

Article 4. Procedures for applying medical quarantine measures at healthcare facilities

1. Within one hour from the time of identifying individuals falling under the provisions of Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree, the head of the department or ward where the individual is being treated shall be responsible for preparing a list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures and reporting to the head of the healthcare facility for review and approval.

2. Within one hour from receiving the request from the head of the department or ward where the individual is being treated, the head of the healthcare facility must approve the list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures.

In cases where the individual falls under Clause 4, Article 3 and Clause 5, Article 5 of this Decree, the head of the healthcare facility does not need to reapprove the list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures but only needs to implement procedures for receiving patients and directing the implementation of medical quarantine measures for the individual at their own facility.

3. Within one hour from the approval of the list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures, the head of the department or ward where the individual is being treated shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the individual subject to medical quarantine measures and their relatives about the application of such measures;

b) Transferring the individual to the location for implementing medical quarantine measures and assigning staff to directly care for and treat the individual.

4. If it is determined that the individual subject to medical quarantine measures does not have an infectious disease after applying the measures, the head of the healthcare facility must notify the cancellation of the application of medical quarantine measures for that individual.

5. After the quarantine period ends, if the patient has not recovered, the head of the healthcare facility where the patient is being treated shall decide on extending the quarantine period.

Article 5. Procedures for applying medical quarantine measures at border gates

1. Within one hour from the time of identifying individuals subject to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 1 of this Decree, the head of the border health quarantine organization shall be responsible for compiling a list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures and reporting it to the head of the border gate management agency for review and approval.

2. Within one hour from the time of receiving the request from the head of the border health quarantine organization, the head of the border gate management agency must approve the list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures.

3. Within one hour from the time the list of cases requiring application of medical quarantine measures is approved, the head of the border health quarantine organization shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the application of medical quarantine measures to:

- The individual subject to medical quarantine measures and their relatives if the individual is an outbound, inbound, or transit traveler;

- Relatives or persons responsible for transporting if the individual subject to medical quarantine measures is a corpse or remains;

- The owner of goods, means of transport in the case where the individual subject to medical quarantine measures is goods, means of transport, biological samples, biological products, human tissues, organs;

- The security agency at the border gate to cooperate in monitoring the implementation of medical quarantine.

b) Transporting the individual to the location for implementing medical quarantine and assigning staff to directly care for and treat individuals subject to medical quarantine who are outbound, inbound, or transit travelers.

In the case where the individual subject to medical quarantine is goods, means of transport, biological samples, biological products, human tissues, organs, corpses, or remains, the application of medical treatment measures shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations on border health quarantine.

4. After the completion of the period for implementing medical quarantine measures, the head of the border health quarantine organization shall be responsible for compiling a list of individuals subject to medical quarantine measures and sending it to the Health Station of the commune where the individual resides for health monitoring.

5. If an individual subject to medical quarantine shows signs of developing an infectious disease, the head of the border health quarantine organization shall be responsible for reporting to the head of the border gate management agency for review and decision on the application of medical quarantine measures at a healthcare facility.

6. Upon receiving the individual, the head of the department or ward of the healthcare facility receiving the individual shall be responsible for:

a) Implementing medical quarantine and caring for and treating the patient;

b) Reporting to the head of the border gate management agency about the condition of the individual subject to medical quarantine.

7. Upon receiving notification from the healthcare facility confirming that the individual has contracted an infectious disease, the head of the border health quarantine organization shall be responsible for compiling a list of individuals who have come into contact with the individual subject to medical quarantine and sending it to the Health Station of the commune where the contact person resides for health monitoring and supervision.

Article 6. Procedures for applying quarantine measures at facilities and locations other than border gates

1. In cases where the number of people exiting, entering, or transiting through Vietnam exceeds the capacity for quarantine at the border gate as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 1 of this Decree:

a) Within six hours from the time of receiving the request from the head of the border health quarantine organization, the head of the border gate management agency shall send a document to the Department of Health of the province or centrally governed city (hereinafter referred to as the province) where the border gate is located requesting guidance on implementing quarantine measures.

b) Within twelve hours from the time of receiving the request from the head of the border gate management agency, the Department of Health of the province must provide specific guidance on the implementation of quarantine measures.

2. In cases where the number of patients with infectious diseases exceeds the capacity of medical examination and treatment facilities in the epidemic area, within six hours from the time of receiving the request from the head of the medical examination and treatment facility, the Head of the Provincial Steering Committee for Disease Control (hereinafter referred to as the province) shall decide on the application of disease control measures as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 48 and the mobilization and requisition of resources for disease control activities as prescribed in Article 55 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.

Article 7. Provisions on the Application of Temporary Restraining Measures

1. Temporary restraining measures shall be applied during the period awaiting the decision to apply quarantine measures by the authorized person as prescribed in Article 2 of this Decree.

2. The temporary restraining measures include:

a) Compulsory application of preventive measures against the spread of infectious diseases;

b) Limiting the communication of individuals proposed to be subject to quarantine measures with the environment and surrounding community.

3. Authority to apply temporary restraining measures:

a) The Chief of the Commune Health Station for individuals as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Decree;

b) The Head of the department or ward where the individual proposed to be subject to quarantine measures is undergoing medical examination and treatment;

c) The head of the border health quarantine organization for individuals as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 1 and Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree;

d) The head of the medical examination and treatment facility in the case prescribed in Clause 2, Article 6 of this Decree.

4. Duration of application of temporary restraining measures:

a) Not exceeding three hours for individuals as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Decree;

b) Not exceeding one hour for individuals as prescribed in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 1 of this Decree;

c) Not exceeding six hours for individuals as prescribed in Article 6 of this Decree.

Article 8. Cases Requiring the Application of Forced Quarantine Measures

Forced quarantine measures shall be implemented in cases where individuals required to undergo quarantine measures as prescribed in Article 1 of this Decree do not comply with the quarantine requirements of the authorized person deciding to apply quarantine measures as prescribed in Article 2 of this Decree.

Article 9. Authority and Time for Applying Forced Quarantine Measures

1. The authority to apply forced quarantine measures shall be carried out according to the provisions of Article 2 of this Decree.

2. The time for issuing a decision to apply forced quarantine measures:

a) For individuals required to undergo quarantine measures as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, and 4, Article 1 of this Decree: within twenty-four hours from the time of discovering individuals required to undergo quarantine measures but who do not comply;

b) For individuals required to undergo quarantine measures as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 1 of this Decree: within six hours from the time of discovering individuals required to undergo quarantine measures but who do not comply.

3. Content of the decision to apply forced quarantine measures:

a) Individuals required to undergo forced quarantine measures;

b) Location for implementing forced quarantine measures;

c) Duration of quarantine;

d) Responsibilities of individuals required to undergo forced quarantine measures and agencies, organizations, and individuals implementing forced quarantine measures.

4. Duration of application of forced quarantine measures:

a) The duration of applying forced quarantine measures shall be decided by the authorized person as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article but shall not exceed twenty-one days from the date the decision to apply forced quarantine measures takes effect;

b) In cases where the duration of applying forced quarantine measures has expired but the individual subjected to forced quarantine measures has not recovered or has not been handled according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 36 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, and during the implementation of forced quarantine measures, they do not comply with the regulations of the implementing agency, the duration of forced quarantine must be extended.

The decision to extend the duration of forced quarantine measures is ten days from the date the decision takes effect.

Article 10. Procedures for enforcing medical quarantine

1. In cases where the subject who must apply for medical quarantine measures is located within healthcare facilities:

a) The head of the department or ward managing the patient shall notify the content of the decision to the subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures, their relatives, and those directly caring for the person being enforced with medical quarantine measures;

b) The head of the public security agency at the location of the healthcare facility shall be responsible for assigning staff to cooperate with the healthcare facility in implementing medical quarantine enforcement and supervising the implementation of medical quarantine enforcement based on the proposal of the head of the healthcare facility.

2. In cases where the subject who must apply for medical quarantine measures is a border health quarantine subject:

a) The border health quarantine organization shall notify the content of the decision to:

- The subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures and their relatives;

- Relatives or persons responsible for transporting the subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures who are corpses or remains;

- The owner of goods, means of transport in the case where the individual subject to medical quarantine measures is goods, means of transport, biological samples, biological products, human tissues, organs;

b) The security agency at the border gate shall be responsible for cooperating with the border health quarantine organization in implementing medical quarantine enforcement and supervising the implementation of medical quarantine enforcement according to the proposal of the head of the border health quarantine organization.

3. In cases where the subject who must apply for medical quarantine measures is residing in an epidemic area, the public security agency at the commune level where the subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures resides shall be responsible for:

a) Notifying the content of the decision to the subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures, their relatives, and those assigned the task of caring for the person being enforced with medical quarantine measures;

b) Implementing the transfer of the subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures from their place of residence to a healthcare facility to implement medical quarantine;

c) Cooperating with the healthcare facility to supervise the subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures.

4. Management of subjects being enforced with medical quarantine measures shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of this Decree.

Article 11. Conditions for facilities implementing medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine

1. Facilities implementing medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine must meet the following conditions:

a) They must be established in locations with little pedestrian traffic. In cases where they are used to isolate individuals infected with Category A infectious diseases or certain Category B diseases, there must be a buffer room before entering the isolation room;

b) Doors and windows must ensure sufficient tightness and solidity to maintain negative pressure relative to the external area. In cases where there is no negative pressure isolation room, the isolation room must be placed at the end of the wind direction and have two windows open to ensure ventilation;

c) They must have electricity, clean water, independent sanitation facilities, and a system for treating waste before discharging it into a waste storage area.

2. The Minister of Health shall issue national technical standards regarding facilities implementing medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine.

Article 12. Medical Quarantine and Enforced Medical Quarantine for Foreign Nationals

1. Procedures and authority for applying medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures to foreign nationals shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Articles 3, 4, and 5 of this Decree. However, the notification of decisions to apply medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures shall be implemented in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Notification of decisions to apply medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures to foreign nationals shall be carried out as follows:

a) For cases where foreign nationals have accompanying relatives: the head of the facility directly implementing medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures shall notify the decision to apply medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures to the subject being enforced with medical quarantine measures and their relatives. At the same time, send a notification document about the application of medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to proceed with the notification procedure to the diplomatic representative agency of the country of the subject being enforced with medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures;

b) For cases where foreign nationals do not have accompanying relatives: the head of the facility directly implementing medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures shall send a notification about the application of medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to proceed with the notification procedure to the diplomatic representative agency of the country of the subject being enforced with medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures.

3. Based on the provisions of this Decree, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice to specify the application of medical quarantine and enforced medical quarantine measures for subjects enjoying diplomatic privileges and immunities.

Article 13. Management of persons subject to medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine

1. During the period of implementing the decision on medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine, persons subject to medical quarantine shall be provided with food, clothing, accommodation, and shall not be allowed direct contact with family members or leave the quarantine area except for cases where they must be transferred to healthcare facilities as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. During the period of implementing medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine, if:

a) The person subject to medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine experiences disease progression or contracts other diseases beyond their own capacity to handle, then the head of the agency implementing the quarantine must transfer that person to the nearest healthcare facility capable of treating the patient;

b) The person subject to medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine dies, the healthcare facility or the agency implementing the medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine must conduct a death review in accordance with the law on healthcare services and carry out hygiene measures in the handling, embalming, burial, and transportation of the body or remains in accordance with the law on prevention and control of infectious diseases.

3. Transporting persons subject to medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine from one location to another must use specialized transport means, while simultaneously applying preventive measures to prevent the transmission of infectious disease agents to the transporter and the community.

Article 14. Treatment Regime for Persons Subject to Medical Quarantine or Compulsory Medical Quarantine

1. Persons subject to medical quarantine as stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of Article 1 of this Decree shall be exempted from hospital fees.

2. In cases where persons subject to medical quarantine contract other diseases during the quarantine period and require examination and treatment, they must pay the costs of examination and treatment according to the law on service prices; if they have a health insurance card, the cost of examination and treatment will be paid by the Social Insurance Fund in accordance with the law on health insurance.

3. In cases where persons subject to medical quarantine die, the costs for preserving, embalming, funeral, and transporting the body or remains shall be borne by the state budget in accordance with the law on prevention and control of infectious diseases.

4. Facilities implementing medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine shall be responsible for providing meals to persons subject to medical quarantine or compulsory medical quarantine in a timely and convenient manner. Meal expenses shall be borne by the person subject to medical quarantine. The state budget shall provide free meal support for poor individuals.

5. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Health to provide detailed guidance on the application regime for persons subject to medical quarantine and the responsibilities of the state as stipulated in this Article.

Chapter 2.
APPLICATION OF SPECIAL MEASURES TO CONTROL THE EPIDEMIC DURING THE EPIDEMIC PERIOD

Article 15. Application of Measures to Temporarily Suspend Operations of Public Catering Services

1. Conditions for deciding to apply measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services in areas affected by the epidemic:

a) The ongoing epidemic is an infectious disease belonging to Group A or Group B but has a high potential for transmission according to the scale and nature of each type of infectious disease;

b) It is determined by the competent health authority that the mode of transmission of the epidemic is through eating and drinking or poses a high risk of becoming a vector for transmitting the disease according to the scale and nature of each type of infectious disease.

2. The revocation of the decision to apply measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services in areas affected by the epidemic shall be carried out when the competent health authority determines that the infectious disease has been controlled.

3. The Chairman of the People's Committee of districts, towns, cities under provinces (hereinafter referred to as district) shall consider and decide on the application or revocation of the application of measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services in cases of epidemics occurring within their jurisdiction based on the proposal of the Standing Office of the Anti-Epidemic Steering Committee at the district level.

4. Contents of the decision to apply or revoke the application of measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services:

a) The decision to apply measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services must clearly specify the type of catering service suspended, the scope, and the duration of the decision;

b) The decision to revoke the application of measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services must clearly specify the type of catering service revoked from the temporary suspension decision, the scope, and the duration of the decision.

5. In cases where the time limit specified in the decision to apply measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services has expired but the epidemic has not yet been controlled, the Standing Office of the Anti-Epidemic Steering Committee shall be responsible for reporting to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the corresponding level to consider and decide on issuing a decision to adjust the duration of the application of measures to temporarily suspend operations of public catering services.

Article 16. Application of measures to prohibit the sale and use of food that acts as a disease transmission vector

1. Conditions for deciding to apply measures to prohibit the sale and use of food that acts as a disease transmission vector:

a) The ongoing epidemic is a group A infectious disease;

b) It has been determined by the competent health authority to be a disease transmission vector with a high risk of transmission through eating and drinking.

2. The revocation of the decision to apply measures to prohibit the sale and use of food that acts as a disease transmission vector shall be carried out when the competent health authority determines that the infectious disease has been controlled.

3. Authority to decide on the application or revocation of measures to prohibit the sale and use of food that acts as a disease transmission vector:

a) The Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces or centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as "province") shall examine and decide on the application or revocation of measures to prohibit the sale and use of food that acts as a disease transmission vector within their province;

b) The Minister of Health shall examine and decide on the application or revocation of measures to prohibit the sale and use of food that acts as a disease transmission vector nationwide where such measures have been applied in two or more provinces.

4. Content of decisions to apply or revoke measures to prohibit the sale and use of food:

a) Decisions to apply measures to prohibit the sale and use of food must clearly specify the type of food prohibited from being sold and used, the scope and duration of the decision;

b) Decisions to revoke measures to prohibit the sale and use of food must clearly specify the type of food whose prohibition is revoked, the scope and duration of the decision.

5. In cases where the time period specified in the decision to apply measures to prohibit the sale and use of specific types of food has expired but the epidemic has not yet been controlled, the person authorized under Clause 2 of this Article shall review and decide on issuing a decision to adjust the duration of applying measures to prohibit the sale and use of food.

Article 17. Application of measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places in epidemic areas

1. Conditions for deciding to apply measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places:

a) The ongoing epidemic is a group A infectious disease;

b) It has been determined by the competent health authority that the mode of transmission of the epidemic is respiratory and the risk of transmission is at a high level.

2. The revocation of the decision to apply measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places shall be carried out when the competent health authority determines that the infectious disease has been controlled.

3. Authority to decide on the application or revocation of measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places:

a) The Chairman of the People's Committee of districts shall examine and decide on the application or revocation of measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places upon the proposal of the Standing Office of the District Anti-Epidemic Steering Board;

b) The Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces shall examine and decide on the application or revocation of measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places in cases where the epidemic occurs in two or more districts upon the proposal of the Standing Office of the Provincial Anti-Epidemic Steering Board;

c) The Minister of Health shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministers of other Ministries or Heads of ministerial-level agencies to examine and decide on the application or revocation of measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places for large-scale activities and services within the country.

4. Content of decisions to apply or revoke measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places:

a) Decisions to apply measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places must clearly specify the forms of gatherings of people and activities and services in public places that are prohibited, the scope and duration of the decision;

b) Decisions to apply measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places must clearly specify the forms of gatherings of people and activities and services in public places whose prohibitions are revoked, the scope and duration of the decision.

5. In cases where the time period specified in the decision to apply measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places has expired but the epidemic has not yet been controlled, the Standing Office of the Anti-Epidemic Steering Board shall be responsible for reporting to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the corresponding level or the Minister of Health to review and decide on issuing a decision to adjust the duration of applying measures to limit gatherings of people or temporarily suspend business and service activities in public places.

Article 18. Announcing information on the application of special epidemic control measures during the period of an epidemic

1. Decisions on the application or cancellation of special epidemic control measures during the period of an epidemic must be published on mass media outlets no later than six hours from the time of issuance, specifically as follows:

a) Decisions to apply or cancel the temporary suspension of operations of public food service establishments and measures to limit large gatherings or temporarily suspend business activities and services at public places by the Chairman of the People's Committee of a district must be broadcast on the district's radio system and the communes within the district with a frequency of three times per day for seven consecutive days;

b) Decisions to apply or cancel the prohibition on trading and using certain types of food and measures to limit large gatherings or temporarily suspend business activities and services at public places by the Chairman of the People's Committee of a province must be broadcast on provincial radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and county-level media outlets for seven consecutive days;

c) Decisions to apply or cancel the prohibition on trading and using certain types of food and measures to limit large gatherings or temporarily suspend business activities and services at public places by the Minister of Health must be broadcast on Vietnam Radio, Vietnam Television, VTC Digital Television, and national circulation newspapers for seven consecutive days.

2. Mass media agencies have the responsibility to accurately, promptly, and truthfully report on the application or cancellation of special epidemic control measures during the period of an epidemic according to the content provided by competent state agencies in the field of health.

Chapter 3.
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 19. Effective Date

This Decree takes effect from November 15, 2010.

Article 20. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Minister of Health shall provide detailed regulations and guidance on implementing the provisions assigned in this Decree; guide other necessary contents of this Decree to meet the requirements of state management.

2. Based on the provisions of this Decree, the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Defense shall specify the authority, procedures, and formalities for conducting medical quarantine and forced medical quarantine for individuals serving sentences in prisons or undergoing administrative violation handling measures at educational facilities under their jurisdiction.

3. The Ministers, Heads of Ministries equivalent to ministries, Heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees under the central city, are responsible for enforcing this Decree./.