Vietnam reports over 3,000 new Covid-19 infections for second straight day

HANOI: Vietnam reported 3,336 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday, for the second day in a row the country reported more than 3,000 cases as it battles its largest and most complex outbreak, the health ministry said.

Vietnam has become one of the world’s coronavirus success stories thanks to targeted mass testing, aggressive contact tracing, tight border restrictions and strict quarantines, but new clusters of infections in recent weeks have tarnished that record.

The Southeast Asian country also reported 18 more deaths between July 8-14, bringing the total death toll from Covid-19 to 225. These deaths were initially unreported due to technical errors, the health ministry said. …

Vietnam’s health minister said Friday the virus is spreading at a faster rate.

“With the virus spreading so rapidly during this outbreak, one family member carrying the virus could infect the entire family,” Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said at an online meeting on Covid-19 prevention.

The Vietnamese government has asked local authorities to urge citizens not to go outside unnecessarily.

In some parts of the country, movement is restricted to contain the spread of the more contagious variant of Delta.

The Ho Chi Minh City Mall and its neighboring industrial provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong, where several industrial parks are located, face social distancing that could impact global supply chains.

As of Friday morning, 1,837 cases of infection have been reported in the industrial zones of Ho Chi Minh City, according to city officials.

The latest outbreak, which began in late April, prompted the government to speed up vaccinations.

The country of 98 million has received nearly 9 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. Fewer than 300,000 people are fully vaccinated. – Reuters