Vietnam says it has no plans for widespread lockdown

"We will only implement social distancing in areas considered virus epicentres, and will not pursue a widespread lockdown," Mai Tien Dung, the government's spokesman, told a monthly press conference on Monday. Dung said selective lockdown measures would allow the government to achieve the dual goals of containing the virus and boosting the economy at the same time.

Vietnam has no plans for a widespread lockdown and will only put areas considered epicentres under strict quarantine, the government's spokesperson said on Monday. "We will only implement social distancing in areas considered virus epicentres, and will not pursue a widespread lockdown," Mai Tien Dung, the government's spokesman, told a monthly press conference on Monday.

Dung said selective lockdown measures would allow the government to achieve the dual goals of containing the virus and boosting the economy at the same time. "If there's an infection in a hamlet, we will lock down that hamlet only, not the whole district or the whole province," he said.