Vietnam tightens virus lockdown ahead of Harris visit

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City, went into a tightened lockdown Monday to battle its worst outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, just a day ahead of the arrival of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on a state visit.

The city has mobilized police and army troops to enforce the lockdown and to deliver food as well as necessities to each household, city authorities announced. Under the stricter measures imposed for at least two weeks, people in “high risk” districts are not allowed to leave their homes.

On Sunday evening, just hours before the intensified lockdown went into effect, the ministry reported 737 virus deaths, its highest single-day total, increasing the death toll since the pandemic began to 8,277, most in the southern region.

Harris is scheduled to hold talks with Vietnamese leaders, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the COVID-19 situation, as well as regional security issues and economic cooperation, the state-owned Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

Her visit will be to the capital, Hanoi, which is more than 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City but is also under lockdown.

Vietnam managed to keep the infection rate relatively low up until April this year, with only 35 deaths. Last year it was praised for keeping the virus under control, an accomplishment generally attributed to the discipline of being a single-party communist state with tight controls at all levels.

But with the spread of the delta variant of the virus, the country is experiencing its worst outbreak by far, with more than half of the country’s 98 million population under lockdown orders.

The visit by Harris to boost bilateral relations is sure to spotlight the aid Washington has been able to offer Vietnam during the health crisis.

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