Vietnam has found a new coronavirus variant that’s a hybrid of strains first found in India and the UK, the Vietnamese health minister said Saturday.
It’s possible that the new variant could be responsible for a recent surge in Vietnam, which has spread of 30 of the country’s 63 municipalities and provinces. The variant appears to spread more easily than other versions of the virus.
Vietnam was originally viewed as a standout success in battling the virus. In early May, it had recorded only 3,100 cases and 35 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
But in the last few weeks, Vietnam has confirmed more than 3,500 new cases and 12 deaths, increasing the country’s total deaths to 47.
“Most of the new transmissions were found in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang, two provinces heavy with industrial zones where hundreds of thousands of people work for major companies including Samsung, Canon and Luxshare, a partner in assembling Apple products. Despite strict health regulations, a company in Bac Giang discovered that one fifth of its 4,800 workers had tested positive for the virus,” according to the Associated Press.
At least 85 people have tested positive as part of a cluster at a Protestant church in Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest metropolis and home to 9 million, according to the Health Ministry. Worshippers sang and chanted, sitting close together without proper masks or other precautions.
Vietnam has since ordered a nationwide ban on all religious events. Large gatherings, closed public parks, and non-essential businesses have been banned in major cities.
Vietnam has so far vaccinated 1 million people with AstraZeneca shots. Last week, it sealed a deal with Pfizer for 30 million doses, scheduled to be delivered in the third and fourth quarters of this year. It is also in talks with Moderna that would give it enough shots to fully vaccinate 80% of its 96 million population.