‘Abnormal health incident’ delayed Kamala Harris flight to Hanoi by hours

The Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, left Singapore on Tuesday more than three hours later than expected due to concerns over “an abnormal health incident” in Hanoi, his next destination, the State Department said.

“Earlier in the evening, the Vice President’s traveling delegation was delayed to leave Singapore because the Vice President’s office learned of a report of a possible recent abnormal health incident in Hanoi, Vietnam.”the United States Embassy in Hanoi said in a statement. “After careful evaluation, the decision was made to continue the Vice President’s trip.”

The State Department has frequently used the term “abnormal health incidents” to describe the so-called Havana Syndrome., which has touched dozens of U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials, who describe discomfort and other unusual physical sensations after hearing strange sounds. The United States has not determined the cause of the affliction, and the White House on Tuesday declined to say whether the individual’s symptoms were similar to other cases of Havana Syndrome.

Harris was scheduled to leave Singapore for Vietnam, the second stop on a trip to Southeast Asia, at 4 p.m. local time. Reporters traveling with the vice president were brutally sent back to the Shangri-La Hotel shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time. His plane finally took off around 7:30 p.m. local time.

So far, the vice president has used the trip to Asia to highlight the United States’ engagement in the region and to warn of the threat posed by China, especially with regard to territorial disputes.