Laos sees surge in COVID-19 cases

The Lao Ministry of Health said on September 7 that in the past 24 hours, the country recorded 307 new cases of COVID-19, of which 86 were local infections.

Visitors to a market in Laos have their body temperature checked. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Visitors to a market in Laos have their body temperature checked. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

The high increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in Laos, including community infections, is worrisome, the ministry said.

In particular, Savannakhet province is currently the pandemic hotspot of the country with 195 imported cases and 26 community cases. This is one of the provinces with a high risk of a large outbreak due to the large number of workers returning from abroad, many of which are bearing the Delta variant.

The Lao Ministry of Health is urging people to strictly follow disease prevention measures to prevent the third wave of pandemic, while urgently conducting contact tracing and providing timely treatment for those infected.

To date, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Laos has reached 16,365, of which 16 people have died.