A woman wearing a face mask and shield rides her scooter along a near-empty street in Hanoi on July 24, 2021. Photo: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP
Vietnam announced a 15-day lockdown on Friday in capital city Hanoi amid a surge in coronavirus cases, AP reports.
The big picture: On Friday, Hanoi reported 70 confirmed infections, the city’s highest, part of a record 7,295 cases in the country.
- The lockdown order in Hanoi bans gatherings of more than two people in public and only government offices, hospitals and essential businesses can stay open, per AP.
- Nearly 5,000 of the country's cases are from Vietnam’s largest metropolis, southern Ho Chi Minh City, which has issued a lockdown until Aug. 1.