Outbreak in Vietnam linked to the more contagious UK variant of Covid-19

PHOTO: Wikamedia

The more contagious UK variant of Covid-19 is linked to a new outbreak in Vietnam with 276 people infected in 10 provinces and cities, according to the country’s health minister. The new cases are a major uptick for Vietnam, which has only recorded 1,850 cases and 35 coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic last year.

Vietnam had its first outbreak in nearly 2 months on January 28, setting a daily record of 83 new infections. The cluster where the virus re-emerged last week in northern province Hai Duong is now under control, according to health minister Nguyen Thanh Long.

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“Gene sequencing showed that 12 of 276 newly detected patients are positive with the UK variant, although the source of this outbreak remains unknown… We need to scrupulously follow mask-wearing regulations.”

Vietnam health officials are now rolling out mass testing to contain the outbreak. In Hanoi, the city will upgrade testing capacity to 40,000 tests per day, Nguyen says.

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The Vietnam government approved the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. State media reports that the first batch of 50,000 doses are expected to arrive by next month.

Outbreak in Vietnam linked to the more contagious UK variant of Covid-19 | News by Thaiger
Active Covid-19 cases in Vietnam, according to Worldometers.

SOURCE: Reuters

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Caitlin Ashworth

Caitlin Ashworth is a writer from the United States who has lived in Thailand since 2018. She graduated from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and media studies in 2016. She was a reporter for the Daily Hampshire Gazette In Massachusetts. She also interned at the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia and Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Florida.

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