Vietnam Detects 1st Virus Case in Nearly 100 Days

A man wearing protective clothing sprays disinfectant during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hanoi, Vietnam March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Kham
A man wearing protective clothing sprays disinfectant during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hanoi, Vietnam March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Kham
TT
20

Vietnam Detects 1st Virus Case in Nearly 100 Days

A man wearing protective clothing sprays disinfectant during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hanoi, Vietnam March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Kham
A man wearing protective clothing sprays disinfectant during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hanoi, Vietnam March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Kham

Vietnam has detected its first locally-transmitted case of coronavirus in nearly 100 days, authorities said Saturday, in a country whose swift and full lockdown won praise for controlling the spread of the disease.

"Patient 416" is a 57-year-old retired Vietnamese man in the southern city of Danang, and the first community transmission since April 16.

Local health officials have tested 105 people who had been in close contact with him, the Ministry of Health said on its website.

The man had taken his mother to a hospital in the days before after showing symptoms of the sickness, authorities said, but gave no confirmation of how he was infected in a country where the virus appeared to have been stubbed out for several months.

"The patient is currently on ventilator support due to respiratory failure," it said, adding his family believe his contacts with others were limited.

"He didn’t go out of the city and only stayed at home to look after his grandchild and interact with neighbors, he didn’t make contact with strangers," it said.

Danang has been packed with local tourists returning to its beaches and restaurants since Vietnam lifted its lockdown.

Despite sharing a long, ungovernable border with China, Vietnam has recorded just 416 virus cases -- including the latest from Danang -- with no deaths.

Communist authorities were quick to lock down the country after the virus emerged in neighboring China, with a rigorous state quarantine and contact-tracing system put in place.

International flights remain strictly limited with a two-week mandatory quarantine laid out for visitors.



Iran Nuclear Program a Threat to Israel and Europe, Says French FM as Araghchi Calls it a 'Right'

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Iran Nuclear Program a Threat to Israel and Europe, Says French FM as Araghchi Calls it a 'Right'

 Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)
Huge smoke rises up from an oil facility facility after it appeared to have been hit by an Israeli strike Saturday, in southern Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP)

Tehran's nuclear program is a threat for the security of Israel and of Europe and diplomacy is the only way to avoid an escalation in the conflict between Israel and Iran, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Sunday.

"The Iranian nuclear program is an existential threat for the security of Israel and beyond the security of Europe. We always said the best way to prevent that threat, to contain it, remains diplomacy," Barrot told RTL radio.

Germany, France and Britain are ready to hold immediate talks with Iran over Tehran's nuclear program in an effort to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said earlier.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that Israel's attack on his country this week sought to "derail" nuclear talks with the United States.

"It is entirely clear that the Israeli regime does not want any agreement on the nuclear issue. It does not want negotiations and does not seek diplomacy," Araghchi told foreign diplomats, saying the attack launched on Friday was an "attempt to undermine diplomacy and derail negotiations".

"We are prepared for any agreement aimed at ensuring Iran does not pursue nuclear weapons," he stated, adding that Tehran would not accept any deal that "deprives Iran of its nuclear rights".