All international travelers in Laos who plan to travel abroad amid coronavirus pandemic will be required to have a medical certificate for their destination country, in an effort to contain the risk and export of COVID-19 transmission.

Medical certificate issued by the hospitals should certify that the traveler is not suffering from any COVID-19 symptoms and tested negative to COVID-19. This preventive measure will be in place for a long time in preventing the spread of the coronavirus.

The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control in Laos has made an announcement that all travelers including locals must have a medical certificate before they visit another country. The committee also said that people who will not have a valid medical certificate will be denied to enter into their destination countries.

Mittaphab Hospital, Mahosot Hospital and Pasteur Institute in Vientiane are facilities in the capital city that have been designated to conduct a health check for COVID-19.

On Wednesday (July 8), Mr. Vangnakhone Dittaphong, Deputy Director of the government-run Mittaphab Hospital (Friendship Hospital), has marked the significance of medical certificates for travelers and informed that there will be multiple health check points and travelers will be required to produce medical documents from their country of origin .

Traveler in Laos can request for a medical certificate at their nearest specified hospitals and they will also be required to pay a fee to obtain the medical certificate from the designated hospital. However, people with either COVID-19 symptoms that includes cough, sore throat, respiratory problems or have had a history of contact with a high-risk group have been restricted to visit hospitals and will not be able to apply for the medical certificates.

In regards to COVID-19 transmission in Laos, the country has reported a total number of 19 confirmed cases which are under treatment and no patient has died due to virus. However, 19 patients who tested positive to COVID-19 have completely recovered from the virus, as of Thursday (July 9).