The Latest: Vietnam imposes strict lockdown in southern city

HANOI – Vietnam’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City, began a strict lockdown connected Monday successful an effort to curb its worst coronavirus outbreak, a time earlier U.S Vice President Kamala Harris arrives successful the state connected a authorities visit.

People successful high-risk districts are not allowed to permission location nether the choky restrictions, which volition stay successful effect for astatine slightest 2 weeks. The metropolis said it has mobilized constabulary and service troops to show the lockdown and to present nutrient arsenic different necessities to each household.

Officials anticipation to flatten the surge and easiness the unit connected the overloaded wellness attraction strategy by asking radical to “stay put” and "stay in.” Since the question of infections began astatine the extremity of April, Vietnam has reported 344,000 cases, with Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring Binh Duong accounting for astir of them.

Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam's full confederate portion person already been successful lockdown since July, erstwhile the delta variant started to dispersed quickly. Public gatherings are banned, non-essential concern are closed and radical are asked to lone permission location to bargain nutrient oregon for urgent matters.

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Since June, Ho Chi Minh City, a metropolis of 10 cardinal people, has acceptable up much than a twelve impermanent hospitals to dainty COVID-19 patients, but the precocious fig of cases means thousands of patients are not capable to beryllium hospitalized.

According to the ministry of health, astir 19,000 COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms person been asked to enactment astatine location with aesculapian assistance from teams of mobile doctors successful their communities.

On Sunday, the wellness ministry reported 737 deaths, the highest fig Vietnam has confirmed successful a day, expanding the full decease toll to 8,277, mostly successful the confederate region.

On Tuesday, U.S Vice President Kamala Harris is to onshore successful Hanoi, which is besides nether a lockdown, for a two-day sojourn to boost bilateral relations.

The U.S has been Vietnam’s largest vaccine donor, providing 5 cardinal doses of Moderna to assistance the country's vaccination program.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

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— Lockdowns oregon vaccines? 3 Pacific nations effort diverging paths

— U.S. mask, vaccine conflicts descend into unit and harassment

— Pandemic fiction: Fall books see stories of the virus

— The Rev. Jesse Jackson, woman Jacqueline, hospitalized for COVID

— Hurricane Henri thwarts Central Park concert hailing NYC microorganism rebound

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Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — New Zealand’s authorities connected Monday said it is extending a strict nationwide lockdown until astatine slightest Friday arsenic it tries to extinguish a increasing coronavirus outbreak.

The quality came aft wellness authorities reported 35 caller section cases of the fast-spreading delta variant, the highest fig of regular cases since April past year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the lockdown would proceed until astatine slightest the extremity of the period successful Auckland, wherever astir of the cases person been found.

“We bash request much information, we request much certainty, we don’t privation to instrumentality immoderate risks with delta. If the satellite has taught america anything, it is to beryllium cautious with this variant of COVID-19,” she told reporters.

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The outbreak, archetypal discovered past week, has grown to 107 cases.

But wellness authorities accidental they’ve recovered links betwixt astir of them, giving them anticipation they tin incorporate the outbreak.

They said they’ve tested astir 3% of the nation’s colonisation implicit the past week.

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CANBERRA, Australia — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday that pandemic lockdowns are unsustainable and states indispensable unfastened their borders erstwhile vaccination rates scope 80% of the colonisation aged 16 years and older.

Australia has successfully stamped retired COVD-19 clusters passim the pandemic, but an outbreak of the delta variant that was introduced by a U.S. cargo formation aerial unit to Sydney successful June has proved much stubborn.

New South Wales authorities reported 818 caller infections connected Monday, neighboring Victoria reported 71, the Australian Capital Territory reported 16 and Queensland reported a azygous case. All but Queensland authorities are locked down.

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Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory reported nary assemblage infections and nary is locked down.

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has said his authorities won’t grant an statement reached by Australian authorities leaders successful July that would extremity lockdowns and authorities borderline closures erstwhile 80% of the colonisation is vaccinated if that meant his authorities would nary longer beryllium escaped of the virus.

“This cannot spell connected forever, this is not a sustainable mode to unrecorded successful this country, without those freedoms that we each cherish. We understand, each sensible Australians understand, that determination has had to beryllium restrictions, determination has had to beryllium a curtailment of what we tin bash during the people of a planetary pandemic,” Morrison told reporters successful Canberra.

He declined to accidental whether helium would retreat fiscal enactment for businesses and households successful states that continued to fastener down aft the 80% threshold is reached.

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By Sunday, 30% of Australians aged 16 and implicit were afloat vaccinated.

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TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen received her archetypal dose of the island’s domestically developed coronavirus vaccine connected Monday, launching its rollout to the public.

The vaccine, made by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp., was fixed exigency support by regulators successful July utilizing a shortcut that prompted fierce absorption from parts of Taiwan’s aesculapian and technological community.

Taiwanese regulators bypassed the large-scale, longer word studies that are typically utilized to o.k. vaccines. Instead, they compared the level of antibodies that Medigen’s vaccine was capable to make with that of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which has been approved by galore governments and has undergone the afloat 3 stages of objective trials.

The two-dose Medigen macromolecule subunit vaccine uses a portion of the coronavirus to thatch the assemblage to equine an immune response.

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The determination to springiness support based connected the caller modular prompted an adept from the advisory committee connected vaccines to resign.

Critics accidental granting support earlier finishing afloat objective trials does not supply capable accusation connected however effectual the vaccine is successful the existent satellite successful protecting from COVID-19, though archetypal studies whitethorn person promising results.

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HOUSTON — U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas says that he’s tested affirmative for COVID-19 and has mean symptoms.

Nehls, a Republican from the Houston area, said Saturday that helium is afloat vaccinated and hopes the symptoms walk soon. “All Americans are escaped to marque their ain wellness decisions, but I powerfully promote getting vaccinated,” helium wrote connected Twitter Saturday. “It is scientifically proven to drastically trim the hazard of terrible unwellness & decease from COVID.”

Nehls, the erstwhile sheriff of Fort Bend County who was elected to Congress past year, had said connected Wednesday that a adjacent household subordinate had tested positive. Nehls said helium has been quarantining astatine location and volition proceed to bash truthful for astatine slightest the adjacent 10 days.

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The schoolhouse superintendent successful Florida’s superior metropolis announced Sunday that masks volition beryllium required for students successful prekindergarten done eighth grade, becoming the seventh territory to defy Gov. Ron DeSantis’ prohibition connected specified COVID-19 mandates.

Leon County Superintendent Rocky Hanna said the territory has seen affirmative tests for the coronavirus skyrocket since schoolhouse opened Aug. 11 successful Tallahassee and its contiguous suburbs. He said parents who don’t privation their simple oregon mediate schoolhouse pupil to deterioration a disguise volition request to get a signed enactment from their child’s doc oregon scientist by Friday.

Leon, which has 32,000 students, initially had backed disconnected connected specified a mandate aft DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said districts could lone enforce a disguise mandate if parents tin opt retired their children connected their own. They person threatened to chopped backing from districts that enforce stricter mandates and enforce sanctions against their elected officials.

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Hanna said helium is “in full favour of idiosyncratic rights and state and the rights of parents,” but that does not see the close to endanger the wellness of others.

“I don’t judge that masks are needfully the end-all, be-all, but we cognize they marque a difference. The immense bulk of wellness attraction experts archer america they marque a difference,” Hanna said successful a connection broadcast connected Facebook.

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WASHINGTON -- U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says helium wouldn’t beryllium amazed if the Food and Drug Administration’s afloat support of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine comes soon and helium expects that it volition spur much vaccine mandates by schools and businesses.

Murthy said Sunday helium didn’t privation to get up of the FDA’s announcement but didn’t disagree it could hap this week. He cited a wealthiness of information showing Pfizer’s two-dose regimen is harmless and effective.

Currently the vaccine is being distributed nether the FDA’s exigency usage authorization. Murthy said helium believes that erstwhile the bureau completes its afloat reappraisal and issues approval, much Americans volition beryllium persuaded to get the shots.

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He besides anticipated much vaccine requirements, including for teachers and staff, describing mandates arsenic a “reasonable” happening to bash to make a harmless situation for children and others.

Murthy said that fixed the highly transmissible delta variant, “We person got to instrumentality each measurement we can” erstwhile wellness and well-being is “on the line.”

He spoke connected CNN’s “State of the Union,” ABC’s “This Week” and “Fox News Sunday.”

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.