Vietnam has recorded its first death from COVID-19, a devastating blow to the country’s proud record of zero deaths since first confirmed case on February 15.
The 70-year-old man was from the central city of Hoi An, the state media reported.
No new infections had been reported for more than three months before an outbreak was reported in the nearby resort of Da Nang earlier this week.
Unlike many other countries, Vietnam acted before it even had confirmed cases, closing its borders early to almost all travellers, except returning citizens.
Anyone entering the country must quarantine in government facilities for 14 days and undergo testing.
And for a while, this approach was highly effective, with no new local transmissions reported since mid-April.
Vietnam, which has a population of around 95 million, reported just several hundred coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.
However, earlier this week, new cases were discovered in the popular resort of Da Nang,
Tens of thousands of tourists from across the country were in the city at the time, many of whom believed the threat from coronavirus had passed.
The government initially closed the city to visitors, before ordering a total local lockdown on Wednesday over the new cases.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Wednesday warned that every province and city in the country was at high risk of infections after the cases in Da Nang emerged.
