The Pasteur Institute in HCM City has helped Hospital 199 of the Ministry of Public Security and the Đà Nẵng C Hospital in Đà Nẵng City, the epicentre of the new outbreak, to set up two laboratories that conduct tests to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The central provincial Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has taken medical samples of 51 people who had close contact with a teacher in Phước Sơn district after he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 for the first time on Wednesday morning.

A temple in Tây Hồ has been closed after thousands of people visited breaching social distancing regulations.

From Thursday afternoon, some areas of Cao Bằng, Bắc Kạn, Lạng Sơn, Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang and Thái Nguyên provinces and the northwest region are expected to see 100 to 200mm of rain accompanied by strong winds, lightning and whirlwinds.

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens have returned home safely from the US and been quarantined upon arrival.

The number of unemployed youths in Việt Nam may double this year, while the employment prospects of 663 million young people in Asia and the Pacific face challenges as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Transport has approved a Đồng Nai Province proposal to widen the HCM City - Long Thành expressway to 10 lanes from its current four.