Vietnam reports over 3,000 new Covid infections in a day

(File photo) Free mask distribution on a road in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Vietnam reported 3,336 new Covid-19 infections yesterday, the second straight day the country has recorded more than 3,000 cases as it battles its largest and most difficult outbreak yet, the health ministry said. Vietnam has been one of the world’s coronavirus success stories, thanks to targeted mass testing, aggressive contact tracing, tight border restrictions and strict quarantine, but new clusters of infections in recent weeks have tarnished that record. The southeast Asia country also registered an additional 18 deaths from July 8-14, raising its total death toll due to Covid-19 to 225. Those deaths had initially not been reported due to technical errors, the health ministry said. Vietnam’s health minister said the virus was spreading more rapidly. “With this rapid spread of the virus in this outbreak, a single family member carrying the virus can infect the whole family,” health minister Nguyen Thanh Long said at an Covid-19 prevention online meeting. The Vietnamese government asked local authorities in a statement to call on citizens to avoid going out unless necessary. Several parts in the country are under movement curbs in order to contain the spread of the more infectious Delta variant. Commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City and its neighbouring industrial provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong, home to several industrial parks, are under social distancing orders, which could have an impact on global supply chains. Industrial zones across Ho Chi Minh City reported as many as 1,837 infections as of Friday morning, the city’s authorities said. The latest outbreak, which began in late April, has added to pressure on the government to accelerate inoculations. The country of 98mn has received nearly 9mn doses of Covid-19 vaccines. Fewer than 300,000 people have been fully vaccinated.