Vietnam Quarantines Commune of 10,000 Over Coronavirus

Vietnamese authorities block the access to Son Loi commune in Vinh Phuc province Thursday, February 13, home of some 10,600 people, where five residents have tested positive for the coronavirus.

The quarantine starts February 13 and will last for 20 days. There are 15 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Vietnam, five of them in Son Loi commune.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Mark Esper will join hundreds of global leaders in Germany Friday for the three-day Munich Security Conference.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi will attend the conference against the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak, the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and U.S.-led efforts to halt the rise of Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.

The director-general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, will update the conference on the global fight against the spread of the coronavirus, which has been officially named as ‘COVID-19’. The WHO recently warned that the global threat from the virus could exceed that of terrorism. (VOA/AFP)