Vietnam’s total number of coronavirus cases recorded since the Delta variant began wreaking havoc in April has breached 100,000, state media said on Monday.
Authorities in Hanoi fined citizens a total of just under 27,000 dollars for breaking social-distancing rules at the weekend.
Vietnam reported more than 7,859 new daily cases of the coronavirus on Monday as the country enforces strict virus prevention protocols nationwide, health authorities said.
On Saturday, authorities in the Vietnamese capital enforced strict virus prevention protocols, with all non-essential services closed, including restaurants and home delivery services, for at least 15 days.
Citizens are also asked to maintain a minimum distance of 2 metres in social situations and to only go outside if absolutely necessary.
Vietnam had been praised internationally for its response to the pandemic. It went 99 days without any local cases in 2020 and had another month this year with no community transmission, but local cases emerged again on April 27 and 102,525 have been reported since – that represents around 70 times the amount recorded in all of 2020.
Ho Chi Minh City, which is also under strict transmission prevention and social-distancing protocols, has emerged as the country’s virus epicentre, recording the vast majority of new cases since April.
The country has vaccinated fewer than 5 million people out of a population of 98 million.
