Vietnamese Prime Minister Asks Major Cities To Prepare For COVID-19 Lockdown - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2020) Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the leaders of the country's two largest cities Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to begin preparations for stringent lockdown measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, national media reports on Monday.

According to the VnExpress news portal, Phuc made the comments during an online meeting with city leaders and asked them to bolster food stocks and to take action to reduce any profiteering during the health crisis.

The prime minister urged city leaders to act quickly and "take advantage of each hour and minute to carry out defined measures," as quoted by the portal.

Phuc also told city leaders to make preparations to limit the movement of people from areas with a high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and called on the Health Ministry to review response plans created to manage the outbreak, the portal stated.

Since the start of the outbreak, 194 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Vietnam, with no confirmed deaths. A total of 25 people have reportedly been discharged after testing positive for the disease.