Vietnam's capital Hanoi's eight million inhabitants are being forced to stay at home for 15 days in the latest attempt to curb the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

Hanoi's usually bustling city centre was empty on Saturday, with shops closed. A third of Vietnam's 100 million inhabitants are now under lockdown.

Vietnam managed to keep the infection rate at a low level during 2020 and was therefore one of the few countries whose economy grew during the pandemic's first year. But since April of this year, the virus has gained ground. Over 7,000 new infections were reported in Vietnam on Friday. It is the third time in a week that the country has set a new daily record for the number of registered infections.

The vaccination rate is low – barely 4.5 million doses have been administered. The country is working on developing its own vaccine and is aiming for herd immunity by early 2022.

Vietnam's strategy is to hospitalise all infected individuals, which has strained healthcare services, although exceptions have been made in certain parts of the country.

Source: TT