Vietnam expects 50,000 new virus cases in major manufacturing hub (updated)

Kumho Tire

26/08/2021 06:36

(Updates with details, background)
    HANOI, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Vietnam will deploy troops to
industrial Binh Duong province, a major manufacturing hub in the
Southeast Asian country, to help contain an expected 50,000
additional coronavirus infections there over the next two weeks,
the government said on Thursday.
    Binh Duong is adjacent to virus epicentre Ho Chi Minh City
and has so far recorded 81,000 COVID-19 cases, a third of which
were detected in the past week, according to Vietnam's health
ministry.
    The province is home to production facilities for dozens of
major firms, including South Korea's Kumho Tire  073240.KS  and
Tetra Pak, the world's largest food packaging company.
    The province also hosts a string of suppliers for Samsung
Electronics  005930.KS  and Pegatron  4938.TW , a key supplier
for Apple. It is one of Vietnam's largest recipients of foreign
investment after Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
    Provincial authorities are preparing for a worst-case
scenario within which cases could exceed 150,000, the government
said in a statement on its website. The number refers to a
contingency plan, and is not a projection.
    2,000 troops will be sent to the province to support the
fight against the virus, the government statement said, along
with 50 mobile medical stations and 15 ambulances.
    Vietnam has deployed soldiers to the streets of Ho Chi Minh
City to help enforce the country's strictest movement curbs yet
which prevent people from leaving home, even for food.
    Ordinary residents who need to travel in the event of a
medical emergency can still do so, but the military has taken
over the distribution of food in most parts of the city.
    After successfully containing the pandemic for much of last
year, Vietnam has been battling a surge in COVID-19 cases driven
by the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.
    The country has recorded a total of 381,000 cases, most of
which were detected in Ho Chi Minh City and its surrounding
provinces since late April. 
    Vietnam has one of Asia's lowest inoculation rates, with
just over 2% of its 98 people fully-vaccinated.

 (Editing by Ed Davies and James Pearson)