A man carries rice bags to distribute to poor people affected by coronavirus restrictions, in Hanoi. Photo: Reuters
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https://scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3094708/vietnam-coronavirus-high-alert-after-first-local-infection Southeast Asia
Vietnam on coronavirus high alert after first local infection in 100 days
- A man who has not left tourist hotspot Da Nang for nearly a month is in critical condition after testing positive for Covid-19
- Vietnam kept its total number of coronavirus cases to just 417 after implementing strict quarantine and testing measures
A street vendor wears a face mask as she rides a bicycle with her housewares in Hanoi. Vietnam has reported its first local coronavirus transmission in three months. Photo: AFP
Vietnam was back on high alert for the coronavirus on Saturday after medical officials in the central city of Da Nang detected the country’s first locally transmitted case for three months.
Vietnam imposed strict quarantine measures and carried out an aggressive and widespread testing programme during the pandemic, keeping its total tally of reported infections to just 417, with no deaths.
It had reported no locally transmitted infections for 100 days until Friday, when the Health Ministry said a 57-year-old man from Da Nang, a tourist hotspot, had tested positive.
State media reported late on Saturday that the man was in critical condition, and specialised doctors had flown from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang to treat him.
Authorities said 50 people the patient came into contact with have been isolated, and 103 people connected to the patient were tested for the virus but all returned negative results.
The ministry said more than 11,800 people are being quarantined throughout the country, including 147 at hospitals.
The government did not say how the man contracted the virus but said he had not left Da Nang for nearly a month.
He was initially diagnosed with pneumonia. A fresh test on Saturday had confirmed the coronavirus infection, authorities said.
The case comes at a time when Vietnam was about to resume international commercial flights and as domestic tourism is surging.
Late on Friday, authorities in the capital, Hanoi, reinstated a recommendation to wear masks in public places.
Vietnam’s ban on international commercial flights is still in place, but foreign experts and skilled workers have been able to enter provided they undergo mandatory quarantine.
Of the nearly 150 cases reported over the past three months, all were found in people who had been quarantined on arrival.