The Washington Post reported that officials in Vietnam have warned that the newly discovered COVID-19 variant is more aggressive. Vietnam hopes to contain a new outbreak of COVID-19 by testing all residents of Ho Chi Minh City and implementing new social distancing measures. These efforts follow the emergence of a new cluster linked to a religious center. Vietnam had relatively succeeded in controlling the virus, but the number of cases has increased over the past few weeks. Just two days ago, officials warned of a "very dangerous" new variant discovered in the country. The government states that the new variant combines characteristics of the two strains first identified in India and the UK, and it spreads easily through the air.
On Thursday, a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Vietnam said that the strain of the coronavirus identified in Vietnam is part of the Indian variant, simultaneously warning of its seriousness and rapid spread. This was reported by Japan's Nikkei Asia today, highlighting the statement of WHO's chief representative in Vietnam, Kidong Park, who emphasized the need to accelerate the vaccination rate for factory workers to prevent the spread of the pandemic in the country. Park noted that the vaccination efforts led by authorities in Vietnam do not meet the necessary levels for factory workers.
The WHO representative in Vietnam indicated that as of now, there is no hybrid strain of the COVID-19 virus in the country, according to the organization's definition, stressing the need to monitor this version of the virus over the next two weeks. Kidong Park also pointed out that the strain present in Vietnam can currently be classified as "Delta," the same strain found in India, while noting that it is not possible to issue warnings currently regarding the emergence of a hybrid strain. However, the WHO representative reiterated the seriousness of the "Delta" variant, noting that it is contagious and spreads very quickly.
Since April, authorities in Vietnam have been attempting to contain the spread of the virus in factories, where 241 new infections were reported in the country on Wednesday. The newspaper mentioned that Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stated last Saturday that the current variant in Vietnam has shared characteristics from both the British and Indian variants.
