More than 10 million residents of Ho Chi Minh City were placed under a strict overnight curfew beginning yesterday, an unprecedented move to curb infections as Vietnam battles a rapid COVID-19 surge.
After successfully containing limited coronavirus outbreaks last year, the communist country is now recording increasing infections and deaths fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2.
Hardest-hit are the northern industrial centers and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, which has registered more than 62,000 infections since April — making up the bulk of Vietnam’s 101,000 cases.
Photo: AP
Authorities have restricted movement in the once-bustling economic hub for more than two months, and imposed a lockdown early this month. Residents are allowed to leave home only for medical emergencies and food.
However, beginning yesterday, an additional, strict stay-at-home order will be in effect from 6pm to 6am local time — although authorities refused to use the word “curfew.” No end date was announced for the measure.
“Local law enforcement will need to step up patrols ... and issue appropriate penalties for offenders, even detention in cases of resistance,” Ho Chi Minh City Mayor Nguyen Thanh Phong said, state media reported.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Almost all public transport links with the city have already been suspended, while travelers originating from the city are required to stay in mandatory quarantine centers for at least two weeks.
More than one-third of Vietnam’s 100 million people are under a lockdown, including residents of its capital, Hanoi, in the north.
Yesterday, the military drove through major boulevards across the city, spraying disinfectant as they went past historic buildings and Hoan Kiem Lake, a major tourist attraction.
An army officer told reporters that military personnel would continue the disinfection campaign over the next three days.
Vietnam was one of the few economies that expanded last year due to its success in containing the virus during the first wave of the pandemic.
However, it has been slow to procure and administer vaccines, with just 4.7 million doses given so far.
It is also developing its own inoculations and authorities say they hope to reach herd immunity by early next year.
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