Vietnam tightens virus lockdown ahead of Harris visit

By HAU DINH
Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City, has begun a tightened lockdown to battle the coronavirus. It comes a day ahead of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s visit to the capital, Hanoi. In Ho Chi Minh City, police and army troops have mobilized to enforce the lockdown, and deliver food and supplies to each household. People in “high risk” districts must stay home under the stricter measures, imposed for at least two weeks. The Health Ministry on Sunday reported 737 virus-related deaths, its highest single-day total. That raises the death toll since the pandemic began to 8,277, most in the southern region. Hanoi, in the north, is also under a lockdown, although not as strict.