For over three months, Vietnam had no new cases of community-transmitted coronavirus. But last week, things started to change for the worse.
A man who had not traveled recently tested positive for the virus, and over the course of just a few days 47 more people had positive tests. It's spread to six cities and provinces in less than a week — a third wave of the virus for Vietnam. In total, Vietnam has counted over 460 infections and no deaths.
An infectious disease expert told Reuters "everyone, including health workers, let their guard down" in the past few months. State media reported that domestic air travel had even risen by 27 percent compared to last year.
Experts are concerned that the outbreak is actually much larger than the almost 50 that have been confirmed. The country's prime minister has warned that the entire country is at risk for infections. In response, Vietnamese authorities are tightening restrictions again.
