Vietnamese city reimposes estrangement after first local infections in months

HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnam on Sunday reintroduced social distancing measures in the central city of Danang after the country reported four cases of locally transmitted coronavirus in the past two days, the first in more than three months.

The Southeast Asian country was back on high alert after the government confirmed its first community infection since April on Saturday and another case early on Sunday, both at the tourist spot in Danang.

The two new cases included a 17-year-old boy in Quang Ngai province and a 71-year-old woman in Danang, the government said Sunday night, bringing the total number of reported cases in the country to 420.

Authorities did not elaborate on how the new infections were contracted or if they were believed to be related.

The city’s social distancing measures would take effect until further notice, the government said on its website.

Danang will stop receiving incoming tourists for 14 days and all religious, sporting and cultural events will be suspended.

Wearing masks in public places in the city is now mandatory, and gatherings of more than 30 people in public places are prohibited, the government said.

The detection of the new cases, which occur when Vietnam seeks to revive its economy and resume international commercial flights, has led the authorities to intensify the repression against illegal immigrants.

State media said dozens of migrants from China have been detected in Danang in recent days.

Thanks to strict quarantine measures and an aggressive and widespread testing program, Vietnam has kept its virus at an impressively low level with no deaths.