Vietnam goes on alert for coronavirus after first local infection in 100 days

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam was once again on high alert for the coronavirus after medical officials in the central city of Danang detected the country’s first case of local transmission for three months.

Vietnam imposed strict quarantine measures and carried out an aggressive and widespread testing program during the pandemic, keeping total reported infections at only 417, with no deaths.

It had reported no locally transmitted infections for 100 days as of Friday, when the Health Ministry said a 57-year-old man from Danang, a tourist spot, had tested positive.

State media reported on Saturday night that the man was in critical condition and that specialized doctors had flown from Ho Chi Minh City to Danang to treat him.

Authorities said 50 people with whom the patient came into contact have been isolated. The ministry said that 103 people connected to the patient were tested for the virus, but all gave negative results.

He said more than 11,800 people are in quarantine across the country, including 147 in hospitals.

The government did not say how the man contracted the virus, but said he had not left Danang in almost a month. Initially, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. A new test on Saturday confirmed the coronavirus infection, authorities said.

The case comes at a time when Vietnam was about to resume international commercial flights and domestic tourism is on the rise.

Late 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 as long as they undergo mandatory quarantine.

Of the nearly 150 cases reported in the past three months, all were found in people who had been quarantined upon arrival.