Vietnam’s northern beach city of Hai Phong on February 22 decided to place some areas under lockdown after a nurse tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

A hospital where the latest Covid-19 patient works put on lockdown. Photo: Le Tan/Thanh Nien

Shortly after the infection was confirmed on Monday morning, the city’s leaders asked local authorities to put on lockdown a village in Thuy Nguyen District where the confirmed case lives.

Other places where the patient passed by will be brought under social distancing status.

Immediate quarantine has been set to people who made contact with the confirmed case and disinfection work has been widely conducted.

The local government will provide free-of-charge essential goods to residents in the lockdown area.

The infection that was detected through massive testing among health workers, foreign experts, and people returning from affected areas has fueled speculation about wider community transmission.

The city’s army and local authorities are required to tighten control over quarantine while the local government is asked to report its Covid-19 prevention and control plans to the Party Committee everyday.

Hai Phong borders Hai Duong, where is the country's Covid-19 hotspot with nearly 600 cases since it first confirmed infections in late January.