Authorities in Gia Lai Province, located in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, have placed a commune and award in lockdown as there have been five community cases of COVID-19 announced in the locality in total on Saturday. 

Gia Lai deputy chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Lich confirmed on Saturday afternoon three more infections in the province, including two in Ia Pa District and one in Ayun Pa Town.

The three new patients attended a wedding party in Ia Ma Ron Commune, Ia Pa District on January 21 with a man who, together with his wife, tested positive for the coronavirus as the wife had come into close contact with patient No. 1,612 in the now epicenter of northern Hai Duong Province.

Gia Lai authorities have sealed off Ia Ma Ron Commune and Cheo Reo Ward in Ayun Pa Town from Saturday and have conducted contact tracing to find F1, F2, and F3 cases of the confirmed patients for quarantine and COVID-19 testing.

The medical center of Ia Pa District, where the infected wife works, has also been fenced off.

The provincial Department of Transport has suspended all kinds of commercial passenger vehicles, except those used for official duties or in cases of necessity, to and from the two aforementioned areas.

Commercial passenger vehicles passing through Ia Ma Ron Commune and Cheo Reo Ward have been prohibited from stopping, parking and dropping off passengers in the areas.

The province has also extended the period of centralized quarantine from 14 days to 21 days.

Students across the province have been asked to stay home until further notice.

The provincial People’s Committee has also suspended the football match between its home team Hoang Anh Gia Lai FC and Binh Dinh FC from the south-central province of Binh Dinh, which was originally scheduled for 5:00 pm Sunday, in the third round of the 2021 top-tier V.League 1.

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