Briefly

VIETNAM

80,000 tourists leave Da Nang over new cases

Vietnam is evacuating 80,000 people, mostly local tourists, from the central tourism hot spot of Da Nang after three residents tested positive for the coronavirus at the weekend, the government said on Monday. The country is back on high alert after authorities on Saturday confirmed the first community infections since April, and another three cases on Sunday, all in or around the city. The evacuation will take at least four days with domestic airlines operating nearly 100 flights daily from Da Nang to 11 cities, the government said in a statement. The country has also reintroduced social distancing measures in Da Nang. By imposing strict quarantine measures and carrying out an aggressive and widespread testing program during the pandemic, Vietnam has kept its total tally of reported infections to just 420, with no deaths.

AUSTRALIA

Outbreak attributed to sick workers in Victoria

Australia's hard-hit Victoria state on Monday posted a daily record of 532 new COVID-19 cases, and the government leader warned that a lockdown in the city of Melbourne would continue while infected people continued to go to work. Melbourne is almost half way through a six-week lockdown aimed at curbing community spread of coronavirus. Mask-wearing in Australia's second-largest city became compulsory last week. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the biggest driver of the new infections was people continuing to go to work after showing symptoms. "This is what is driving these numbers up and the lockdown will not end until people stop going to work with symptoms and instead go and get tested," Andrews said.

Agencies Via Xinhua