After lull, cases spread in Vietnam's cities, provinces

After over a month with no local infections, Vietnam has recorded 176 confirmed coronavirus cases from several outbreaks that have spread to 19 provinces during the past 10 days

HANOI, Vietnam -- After over a month with no local infections, Vietnam has recorded 176 confirmed coronavirus cases from several outbreaks that have spread to 19 provinces during the past 10 days, the Health Ministry said. The National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, which has been at the front line treating COVID-19 patients, has been sealed off after a doctor, two nurses and more than 20 patients tested positive earlier the week. Meanwhile, the city’s K hospital, which is designated to treat cancer patients, also closed Friday after 11 cases of COVID-19 were found. “The situation is alarming because we are having multiple outbreaks scattered across the country with unclear sources of transmission and multiple variants of the virus,” Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said during a government meeting broadcast on national television VTV on Friday evening.