Visitors to the province without smartphones will have to strap on the wristbands while those who have phones will receive a SIM card and be asked to install medical declaration and contact tracing apps like Vietnam Health Declaration or Bluezone.

The wristbands come with QR codes to be scanned during a person's time in quarantine or self-isolation. They would be reminded by officials to declare their medical status every day and look out for abnormal signs.

This will be done for 28 days following a person's entry.

The tracking wristbands use either Bluetooth or GPS to track their wearers. Their batteries last for around 30 days and are rechargeable.

A spokesperson for the Authority of Information Technology Application said the wristbands were developed by tech firm Ginnovations and trialed on passengers arriving in Vietnam on certain flights since June.

Other countries like Singapore and South Korea also use tracking technology to monitor people.

Vietnam would trial its vaccine passport program in July in Quang Ninh, home to Van Don International Airport, letting in foreign entrants who have either been fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19, and test negative for the coronavirus upon arrival. These arrivals will only have to undergo a seven-day centralized quarantine period instead of the usual 21 days.

Luu Quy