Vietnam to extend lockdown across southern region as COVID cases soar

HANOI, July 31 (Reuters) – Vietnam will extend strict travel restrictions at its Ho Chi Minh City business center and 18 other southern cities and provinces from Monday for two more weeks to help fight its worst COVID-19 epidemic, according to the mentioned government.

After successfully containing the virus during much of the pandemic, Vietnam is facing a rapid spread of infections that has resulted in movement restrictions in around a third of the country. It has recorded a total of 145,000 cases and 1,306 deaths, 85% of which were recorded in the past month.

“Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City and other places should urge citizens to stay where they are and strictly follow the curbs,” a government statement said on Saturday.

The Southeast Asian country reported 8,624 new infections on Saturday evening, with most of the confirmed cases detected in the south, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City where social distancing measures have been in place since May 31. read more

“The implementation of restrictions in the region is aimed at creating a seat belt around Ho Chi Minh City and not letting the epidemic spread further,” said Vu Duc Dam, deputy prime minister and head of the COVID-19 working group.

“It may take months to contain the situation in the region. “

Ho Chi Minh City is currently Vietnam’s epicenter, accounting for 64% of the country’s total infections.

The city recorded its first death from COVID-19 on June 2, but the total death toll reached 1,164 on Saturday, according to data from the Ho Chi Minh City Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The central coastal city of Danang also imposed movement restrictions from Saturday until further notice. In the northern capital Hanoi, where a lockdown order will expire next weekend, authorities were considering expanding restrictions.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health on Friday made an urgent appeal for private hospitals to treat patients with COVID-19 as public hospitals are exhausted. Read more

The reemergence of the virus with complicated clusters prompted the government to speed up vaccinations. Its inoculation campaign relied heavily on the AstraZenca vaccine (AZN.L).

The country received the first in five million doses of Sinopharm in its order from China on Saturday, according to a document from authorities in Ho Chi Minh. The remaining four million doses will arrive in August.

Vietnam has a population of 98 million and has so far administered more than 5.9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but only around 589,000 people have been fully vaccinated.

Editing by Mark Heinrich and Clelia Oziel

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