Photo taken on Sept. 12, 2021 shows a view of a street near Patuxay monument park before the overnight curfew imposes in Vientiane, Laos. The Lao government has extended the current nationwide lockdown to Sept. 30 to contain the spread of COVID-19. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
VIENTIANE, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government has extended the current nationwide lockdown for 15 more days to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The lockdown will be extended to Sept. 30 as the COVID-19 cases continued to rise, Deputy Head of the Prime Minister's Office Thipphakone Chanthavongsa told a press conference here on Wednesday.
The lockdown extension also aimed to bring community transmissions of COVID-19 under control.
Thipphakone added that locally-transmitted cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in Lao capital Vientiane and other provinces, sparking fears that this could cause a major community outbreak as most cases involve the highly contagious Delta variant.
The National Taskforce Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on Thursday reported 23 new imported cases and 131 locally transmitted cases.
As of Thursday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Laos reached 18,059 with 16 deaths.
A total of 13,935 COVID-19 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. Enditem
