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Vietnam recently reported its first local infections after some three months of having no cases of community transmission. Photo: AP
As several Asian countries confront a
second wave of coronavirus infections
, governments have clamped down in an attempt to contain the disease, with Vietnam locking down the city of Da Nang and preparing to evacuate about 80,000 people.
Elsewhere, there were new records set for daily increases in the Australian state of Victoria and in
India
, where the epidemic is now spreading faster than anywhere else in the world, while Indonesia’s total number of infections passed 100,000, the most in Southeast Asia.
Vietnamese authorities have issued a stay-at-home order for the central city of Da Nang, and the government has been on high alert after recently recording its first local cases in three months, all in or around Da Nang, which has a population of about 1.1 million people.
Vietnam on coronavirus alert after first local infection in 100 days
25 Jul 2020
Vietnam on Monday reported 11 new infections after more than three months without any domestically transmitted cases, the Ministry of Health said. The new cases are all patients and health workers at Da Nang Hospital in Da Nang, where a 57- year-old man on Saturday was confirmed to be infected by the coronavirus, the country’s first local case since April.
The ministry also said that the virus is a new strain that has not previously been found in Vietnam. The mutated strain has a faster speed of infection, but its harmfulness compared to the previous strain is not yet known, it said.
Vietnam has also reintroduced social distancing measures in Da Nang. By imposing strict quarantine measures and carrying out an aggressive and widespread testing programme during the pandemic, Vietnam has kept its total tally of reported infections to just 420, with no deaths.
Vietnam is still closed to foreign tourism but there had been a surge in domestic travellers looking to take advantage of discounted flights and holiday packages to local resorts.
Following the discovery of the new cases, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered police to step up a crackdown on illegal immigration to the country. State media on Sunday said police in Da Nang had arrested a 42-year-old Chinese man it said was the head of a criminal group which helps people illegally enter Vietnam from China.
A health worker takes the temperature of residents in Da Nang. Photo: Reuters
Da Nang’s authorities locked down two hospitals where two victims visited, and ordered their patients, medical staff, caregivers and family members – about 7,000 people in total – to be quarantined for 14 days, local media reported.
Under the stay-home order, residents can only go out for essential needs. Gatherings of more than two people in public areas other than schools, hospitals or workplaces are not allowed and people must practise safe distancing.
The evacuation will take at least four days, with domestic airlines operating about 100 flights daily from Da Nang to 11 Vietnamese cities, the government said in a statement. Those returning from Da Nang to other parts of the country would be required to quarantine at home for 14 days, the health ministry said.
Vietnam
has postponed its hosting of Asia’s largest security forum and an annual meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers to September due to the pandemic.
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/econ...ce-face-masks-uncovers-entrepreneurial-spirit
