Fifty-four students from Laos studying in Vietnam have returned to Laos without permission and have failed to place themselves under quarantine for 14 days in line with regulations.
The Ministry of Education and Sports is calling on the 54 students to present themselves and to enter into quarantine for 14 days. Those who fail to do so will be punished in accordance with the law and will not be allowed to return to their studies.
The Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs reported the issue to the Consulate General of Laos in Danang last Sunday. The report stated that on 24 July, fifty-six Lao students at the Quang Tri Medical College absconded from their dormitories and returned to Laos without authorization.
Meanwhile, the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports issued a notice yesterday stating that the students had left their dormitory in Vietnam, in accordance with a report from the Lao consulate in Danang, Vietnam.
Only 39 of the students held valid passports, while the remainder did not. The students returned to their homes in Savannakhet, Salavanh, and Khammouane provinces.
The summer vacation period for students at Quang Tri Medical College is from 20 July to 25 August. In late July, the student management board at the university found 56 students missing from their dormitory.
Two of the students returned to the university in Vietnam but were discovered and placed into quarantine by Vietnamese authorities.
The Lao Prime Minister and the National Taskforce have assigned the provincial offices of education and sports in Savannakhet, Salavanh, and Khammouane with locating the students and ensuring they are placed in quarantine for 14 days.
Following the quarantine period, if the students do not exhibit symptoms of Covid-19, they and their parents or guardians are to be reprimanded for breaking the laws and regulations of both countries. Those who fail to make themselves known and enter quarantine will not be permitted to return to Vietnam to complete their studies.
Laos has confirmed 22 cases of Covid-19 following yesterday’s announcement of two more cases, a 30-year-old male returning from Taiwan and a 25-year-old female student returning from the United States.
Both cases are Lao nationals returning from abroad.
