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Bloomberg
For almost six months, Vietnamese officials every day announced a fairly astonishing statistic for a nation of 96 million: no Covid-19 deaths. But that changed on July 31, with 10 deaths being reported since.
After no reports of community transmission cases since April 16, an outbreak in the coastal city of Danang turned deadly in late July. The virus swept through three hospitals and infected older people with serious health issues. “The coronavirus infection was their last straw,†said Nguyen Gia Binh, who leads the health ministry’s team overseeing Covid-19 treatment, in a government post.
Vietnam’s virus resurgence underscores the difficulties governments face not only in battling waves of the stealthy pathogen but doing so while trying to preserve economic growth. After officials lifted strict social-distancing lockdowns last spring, people returned to activities such as crowding onto Danang’s beaches, prompting PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc to scold the country for letting its guard down.