Long weekend becomes 9-week lockdown for AP Vietnam reporter

By HAU DINH
Associated Press

VUNG TAU, Vietnam (AP) — The AP’s Hau Dinh set off from Hanoi for the seaside resort of Vung Tau in southern Vietnam for a long weekend in mid-July. The trip came just as the delta variant of the coronavirus began sweeping through Vietnam in the pandemic’s worst wave yet, sparking harsh lockdown measures that left him trapped away from home. Nine weeks later, he’s still there. Working, exercising, learning French and trying to cope with the monotony of the daily routine with no immediate end in sight.