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Reuters
Vietnam had passed three months without any locally transmitted cases
Vietnam has recorded its first Covid-19 death, in a devastating blow to a country proud of its zero deaths.
The 70-year-old man was from the central city of Hoi An, state media said on Friday.
No new infections have been reported for more than three months before an outbreak was reported at the nearby Da Nang resort earlier this week.
Vietnam, which has a population of around 95 million, has reported only 509 cases since the pandemic began.
Unlike many other countries, Vietnam acted before even confirming cases, closing its borders early to almost all travelers, except for returning citizens. Anyone entering the country must be quarantined at government facilities for 14 days and undergo testing.
And for a time, this approach appeared to be highly effective, with no new local broadcasts reported since mid-April.
The country was praised for its timely efforts to contain the virus and for the attention it was able to offer to a Scottish pilot who spent two months in a coma after developing Covid-19.
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But earlier this week came the difficult news that new cases had been discovered at the popular Da Nang resort.
Tens of thousands of tourists from across the country were in the city at the time, many of whom believed that the coronavirus threat had passed.
Initially, the government closed the city to visitors, before ordering a full local closure on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc warned that all the country’s provinces and cities after the outbreak in Da Nang.
“We have to act more quickly and fiercely to control the outbreak,” state media quoted him as saying.
What this means for Vietnam
By Bui Thu, BBC Vietnamese News
Initially, the main Vietnamese newspapers cited the coronavirus as the main cause of man’s death. But then, just a moment later, the story was removed from most of the country’s state media websites.
The story only appeared again on their websites when the National Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of COVID-19 finally confirmed the news.
Speaking to the BBC Vietnamese Service, Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, deputy director of the Treatment Subcommittee of the National Covid-19 Working Group, said the person “died of heart attack, kidney cancer, high blood pressure and others serious illness while positive for coronavirus. ”
Some speculate that the government found it difficult to announce the first death for fear of public shame.
But as the news was confirmed today, Vietnam is trying to carry out an aggressive prevention strategy to contain the virus, with many quarantine facilities and mobilizing all means and resources to treat each patient.
Since July 25, 93 cases linked to Da Nang have been reported, and the city is now under closure again. The restrictions are also being reintroduced in many other cities and provinces.
