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
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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.



Israel Says it Deported 6 More Activists Detained on Gaza Aid Boat

The Gaza-bound aid boat, Madleen, under escort of Israeli naval forces enters to Ashdod Port in southern Israel after being seized by Israeli forces on June 9, 2025. © Leo Correa, AP
The Gaza-bound aid boat, Madleen, under escort of Israeli naval forces enters to Ashdod Port in southern Israel after being seized by Israeli forces on June 9, 2025. © Leo Correa, AP
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Israel Says it Deported 6 More Activists Detained on Gaza Aid Boat

The Gaza-bound aid boat, Madleen, under escort of Israeli naval forces enters to Ashdod Port in southern Israel after being seized by Israeli forces on June 9, 2025. © Leo Correa, AP
The Gaza-bound aid boat, Madleen, under escort of Israeli naval forces enters to Ashdod Port in southern Israel after being seized by Israeli forces on June 9, 2025. © Leo Correa, AP

Israel on Thursday said it deported six more activists who were detained when it seized an aid boat bound for the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

The six included Rima Hassan, a French member of the European parliament who Israel had previously barred from entering Israel and the Palestinian territories, citing her support for boycotts of the country.

Israel's Foreign Ministry, which has dismissed the aid boat as a publicity stunt, posted a photo of Hassan on what appeared to be an airplane.

“Six more passengers from the ‘selfie yacht,’ including Rima Hassan, are on their way out of Israel,” the ministry wrote on X. “Bye-bye — and don't forget to take a selfie before you leave.”

They were among 12 passengers, including climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, aboard the Madleen, a boat that sought to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver a symbolic amount of aid. Israel seized the vessel early Monday and deported Thunberg and three others the following day, The AP news reported.

The last two activists are expected to be deported on Friday, according to Adalah, a local human rights group representing them.

It said the activists were subjected to “mistreatment, punitive measures, and aggressive treatment, and two volunteers were held for some period of time in solitary confinement.”

Israeli authorities declined to comment on their treatment. Israel says it treats detainees in a lawful manner and investigates any allegations of abuse.

Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent the militant group from importing arms. Critics view it as collective punishment of Gaza's roughly 2 million Palestinians.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said those activists who signed deportation documents would be deported immediately while those who refused would be brought before a judicial authority to authorize their deportation in keeping with Israeli law. The activists have protested that they had no intention of entering Israel and were brought there against their will.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition, which organized the journey, said it was aimed at protesting Israel's blockade of Gaza and ongoing military campaign there, which experts say has pushed the territory to the brink of famine more than 20 months into the Israel-Hamas war.