Vietnam Resumes Health Measures After Local Rebound in Danang

Vietnam's government Monday set new health measures to contain the pandemic after detecting four COVID-19 local cases, which happens after the country has remained free of contagions since April.

RELATED:

Vietnam Sends Aid, Protective Suits to US To Fight COVID-19

Authorities announced that 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, will be evacuated from Danang city, where social distancing measures will be indefinite reinstated.

The evacuees will be distributed through eleven Vietnamese cities with the support of the national airlines. This process will take approximately four days.

National tourists will be banned from entering the city, and those returning to their provinces from Danang will have to serve a 14-day quarantine at home.

All religious, sporting and cultural events will also be suspended. The use of masks in public places will be mandatory, and meetings of over 30 people will be prohibited.

Vietnam keeps its borders closed to international travelers, and those arriving in the country will have to stay in quarantine facilities. 

"The new cases may be just the tip of the iceberg. We assume there are many more people infected," Harvard Medical School's Hanoi-based expert Todd Pollack said.

The country was about to reach 100 days without reporting a new local infection. Activities had returned to normal when a 57-year-old man was COVID-19 positive last Saturday.

Local authorities quarantined at least 50 people who had direct contact with him.