
HANOI -- Vietnam has gone on high alert nationwide to contain COVID-19 outbreaks in the north, even as the country holds a general election Sunday for 69 million voters to select 500 members of parliament.
Vietnam reported 131 more local coronavirus cases Friday, pushing its community tally in the latest wave since April 27 to 1,892. Bac Giang Province, the epicenter, recorded 99 infections. Bac Giang and neighboring Bac Ninh -- home to around 20 industrial parks and more than 20 industrial zones -- essentially went into lockdown Monday.