越南河内——越南最大的大都市胡志明市周一进入高度封锁状态，以应对2008年最严重的疫情冠状病毒就在美国副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯进行国事访问的前一天。
市当局宣布，该市已动员警察和军队实施封锁，并向每个家庭运送食物和必需品。根据为期至少两周的更严格的措施，在“高风险”地区的人不允许离开他们的家。
“人们必须绝对呆在原地，彼此隔离，从一所房子到另一所房子，从一个社区到另一个社区，”总理范明钦在上周宣布新的限制时表示。
周日晚上，就在强化封锁生效前几个小时，卫生部报告了737例病毒死亡，这是单日最高总数，使大流行开始以来的死亡人数增加到8277人，其中大多数在南部地区。
哈里斯计划与越南据国有媒体《图伊特报》报道，包括钦在内的中国领导人就新冠肺炎局势以及地区安全问题和经济合作发表了讲话。
她将访问首都河内，河内位于胡志明市以北1100多公里(700英里)，但也处于封锁状态。
越南设法将感染率保持在相对较低的水平，直到今年4月，只有35人死亡。去年，它因控制住了病毒而受到称赞，这一成就通常归功于它是一个一党制的共产党国家，各级都受到严格控制。
但是随着三角洲变种病毒的传播，该国正在经历迄今为止最严重的疫情，全国9800万人口中有一半以上处于封锁令之下。
哈里斯此次访问旨在促进双边关系，这肯定会凸显华盛顿在20世纪80年代向越南提供的援助健康危机。
美国一直是越南最大的疫苗捐赠国，运送了500万剂Moderna疫苗。此外，越南已经与美国疫苗制造商Moderna和辉瑞签署了商业协议，以确保至少8000万剂疫苗，用于在明年第一季度前为70%的人口接种至少一针疫苗。
像它的许多东南亚邻国一样，越南在为其人口接种疫苗方面一直落后，迄今为止已经接种了1750万针。然而，在Chị胡志明市，大约60%的18岁以上的人至少打过一针。
自最近一波疫情于4月底开始以来，越南报告了34.4万例确诊病例，其中胡志明市和邻近的平阳省占新增感染病例的大部分。
当局希望通过要求人们呆在家里来平抑目前激增的病例。
自今年7月三角洲变异病毒开始迅速传播以来，胡志明市和越南整个南部地区已经处于封锁状态。公共集会被禁止，非必要的企业关闭，人们被要求离开家园，只是为了购买食物或紧急事务。
人们希望胡志明市新的严格限制将降低其1000万居民的感染率，并减轻其超负荷医院的压力。
自6月份以来，该市已经建立了十几家临时医院来治疗新冠肺炎患者，但活跃病例的高数量意味着成千上万的其他患者仍然无法住院。
据卫生部称，约19，000名症状轻微的病毒患者被要求留在家中，并从其社区的流动医生团队那里获得医疗援助。
在美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀上个月访问期间，美国承诺捐赠77台超低温冰柜，帮助越南储存和分发疫苗。
据美国国际开发署称，该国已承诺向越南提供超过2000万美元的病毒相关援助。
哈里斯计划参加美国疾病控制和预防中心(简称疾控中心)在河内的办公室落成典礼。它还将作为疾控中心东南亚地区办公室，处理涉及传染病的问题。
Vietnam tightens virus lockdown ahead of Harris visit
HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnam’s largest metropolis, Ho Chi Minh City, went into a tightened lockdown Monday to battle its worst outbreak of thecoronaviruspandemic, just a day ahead of the arrival of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on a state visit.
The city has mobilized police and army troops to enforce the lockdown and to deliver food as well as necessities to each household, city authorities announced. Under the stricter measures imposed for at least two weeks, people in “high risk” districts are not allowed to leave their homes.
“People must absolutely stay put, isolate from each other, from house to house, from community to community,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said when the new restrictions were announced last week.
On Sunday evening, just hours before the intensified lockdown went into effect, the ministry reported 737 virus deaths, its highest single-day total, increasing the death toll since the pandemic began to 8,277, most in the southern region.
Harris is scheduled to hold talks withVietnamese leaders including Chinh on the COVID-19 situation, as well as regional security issues and economic cooperation, the state-owned Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
Her visit will be to the capital, Hanoi, which is more than 1,100 kilometers (700 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City but is also under lockdown.
Vietnam managed to keep the infection rate relatively low up until April this year, with only 35 deaths. Last year it was praised for keeping the virus under control, an accomplishment generally attributed to the discipline of being a single-party communist state with tight controls at all levels.
But with the spread of the delta variant of the virus, the country is experiencing its worst outbreak by far, with more than half of the country’s 98 million population under lockdown orders.
The visit by Harris to boost bilateral relations is sure to spotlight the aid Washington has been able to offer Vietnam during thehealthcrisis.
The U.S. has been Vietnam’s largest donor of vaccines, sending 5 million doses of Moderna. Separately, Vietnam has signed commercial agreements with American vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer to secure at least 80 million doses of vaccine toward its effort to inoculate 70% of the population with at least one shot by the first quarter of next year.
Like many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, Vietnam has been lagging in vaccinating its population, and has administered 17.5 million jabs to date. However, about 60% of people over 18 years old in Ho Chị Minh City have received at least one shot.
Since the latest wave began at the end of April, Vietnam has reported 344,000 confirmed cases, with Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring Binh Duong province accounting for most of the new infections.
By asking people to remain in their homes, authorities expect to flatten the current surge of cases.
Ho Chi Minh City and the entire southern region of Vietnam had already been in lockdown since July when the delta variant started to spread rapidly. Public gatherings were banned, non-essential businesses closed and people were asked to leave their homes only to buy food or for urgent matters.
It is hoped the new severe restrictions in Ho Chi Minh City will bring down the infection rate among its 10 million residents and ease the pressure on its overloaded hospitals.
Since June, the city has set up over a dozen temporary hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients, but the high number of active cases means thousands of other patients are still not able to be hospitalized.
According to the Health Ministry, some 19,000 virus patients with mild symptoms have been asked to stay home and get medical assistance from teams of mobile doctors in their communities.
During a visit by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin last month, the United States committed to donate 77 ultra-low temperature freezers to help Vietnam store and distribute vaccines.
According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, the country has pledged over $20 million dollars in virus-related assistance to Vietnam.
Harris is scheduled to attend the inauguration in Hanoi of an office of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, better known as the CDC. It will also serve as the CDC’s regional office for Southeast Asia to deal with issues involving infectious diseases.
