Tourist hotspots clamp social distancing measures amid growing Covid threat

Beach town Phan Thiet with over 228,000 people began a 14-day lockdown under Directive 16 on Monday, which requires people to stay at home and only go out for necessities such as buying food or medicines or to work at factories or businesses that are allowed to open.

Phan Thiet, home to Mui Ne, a beach resort hotspot, has detected a number of Covid cases with their sources remaining unidentified, Voice of Vietnam reported.

Binh Thuan Province has recorded 667 infections in the ongoing wave that began in late April.

Binh Dinh, home to another famous resort town, Quy Nhon, began social distancing for two weeks Sunday under the less stringent Directive 15, which prohibits holding of social events, gatherings of 20 people or more and 10 outside of workplaces, schools and hospitals, Saigon Giai Phong newspaper reported.

Quy Nhon, a rising star on Vietnam’s tourism map for its long, broad sandy beaches, welcomed four million visitors in 2019.

Binh Dinh has had 195 cases so far.

Many popular tourism destinations such as Nha Trang, Da Nang and Hoi An have been placed under lockdown after they detected Covid clusters.

In the fourth wave, the country has had 153,621 cases in 62 of its 63 cities and provinces.