The governments of Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam have responded to the failure of their lockdown measures to contain the Delta variant of the coronavirus with more lockdown measures.
August 23, 2021 - "Vietnam’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City, went into a tightened lockdown Monday to battle its worst outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, just a day ahead of the arrival of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.... The city has mobilized police and army troops to enforce the lockdown and to deliver food as well as necessities to each household, city authorities announced. Under the stricter measures imposed for at least two weeks, people in 'high risk' districts are not allowed to leave their homes.
"'People must absolutely stay put, isolate from each other, from house to house, from community to community,' Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said when the new restrictions were announced last week. On Sunday evening, just hours before the intensified lockdown went into effect, the ministry reported 737 virus deaths, its highest single-day total, increasing the death toll since the pandemic began to 8,277.... Hanoi, which is more than 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City ... is also under lockdown....
"By asking people to remain in their homes, authorities expect to flatten the current surge of cases. Ho Chi Minh City and the entire southern region of Vietnam had already been in lockdown since July when the delta variant started to spread rapidly. Public gatherings were banned, non-essential businesses closed and people were asked to leave their homes only to buy food or for urgent matters. It is hoped the new severe restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City will bring down the infection rate among its 10 million residents and ease the pressure on its overloaded hospitals....
"Harris is scheduled to attend the inauguration in Hanoi of an office of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, better known as the CDC. It will also serve as the CDC’s regional office for Southeast Asia to deal with issues involving infectious diseases."
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/vietnam-tightens-virus-lockdown-ahead-harris-visit-79596430
New Zealand extended its COVID-19 lockdown until at least Friday | CP24 - Nick Perry & Rod Mcguirk, Associated Press:
August 23, 2021 - "New Zealand's government on Monday said it will extend a strict nationwide lockdown until at least Friday as it tries to extinguish a growing coronavirus outbreak.... First discovered last week, the outbreak has grown to 107 cases. But health authorities say they've found links among most of those cases, giving them hope they can quash the outbreak....
"Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the lockdown will continue until at least the end of the month in Auckland, where most of the cases have been found.... Ardern said modeling suggested the outbreak should peak in a few days' time, and then decline.... Ardern also announced that the government has decided to suspend regular Parliament sessions for a week, a move that drew criticism from opposition lawmakers....
"While New Zealand was maintaining its strategy of trying to wipe out the virus completely through lockdowns, neighboring Australia appeared to have conceded that lockdowns would not be able to eliminate the delta variant entirely and could only slow its spread. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said lockdowns are were 'not a sustainable way to live in this country.' He said states must open their borders once vaccination rates reach 80% of the population aged 16 years and older.
"His remarks came as an outbreak in Sydney grew by more than 800 cases, near record levels. Health authorities said an outbreak centered in Melbourne also grew by 71 cases and another in the capital, Canberra, grew by 16 cases. All three cities remained in lockdown."
Read more: https://www.cp24.com/world/new-zealand-extends-national-covid-19-lockdown-for-five-more-days-1.5557434
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