Nha Trang prolongs lockdown order by extra five days

People are required to stay at home and only go out for basic necessities like buying food or medicines or to work at factories or businesses allowed to operate while authorities perform mass Covid-19 testing to detect and isolate coronavirus cases, according to the provincial portal.

Nha Trang, home to over 500,000 people, is under a one-week total lockdown that will last until the end of Friday, under which people are banned from leaving home.

Nha Trang and Van Ninh District, famous for beautiful islands and long beaches, had previously imposed a social distancing campaign under Directive 16 for 42 days. However, these localities have recorded over 3,200 infections out of nearly 5,000 in the whole province.

Khanh Hoa authorities also decided to ease restrictions for remaining areas from Friday, which would fall under less stringent measures of Directive 15 that bans social events, gatherings of 20 people or more and 10 if outside workplaces, schools and hospitals.

The ongoing outbreak has taken a heavy toll on the local tourism industry, which has been the mainstay for Khanh Hoa’s economy for years.

Ninety-five percent of hotels in Nha Trang have closed down, with the remainder mostly operating as temporary Covid-19 quarantine facilities.

Many other tourism destinations like Vung Tau, Phan Thiet, Da Nang, and Hoi An have also been placed under lockdown after Covid clusters were detected.

In the fourth wave that began in late April, the country has confirmed over 308,000 infections.