In the central Phan Thiet town of Binh Thuan Province, which has a population of 228,000, the lockdown continues from Sunday until August 22 under Directive 16, which requires people to stay at home and only go out for necessities such as buying food or medicines or to work at factories or businesses that are allowed to open.

The pandemic situation in the town remains serious.

Home to beach resort hotspot Mui Ne and a large community of Russian expats, Phan Thiet has had 1,447 cases in the current wave which began in April.

Kien Giang, home to Phu Quoc Island, has extended its lockdown for another 10 days from Monday.

Since last month the island of over 100,000 people, which is planning to begin a six-month trial of vaccine passports in October to welcome back foreign tourists, has been locked down and all tourism activities have been suspended.

Vietnam's largest island has been a top tourist attraction since the government rolled out a 30-day visa-free policy for foreigners in 2014.

It has around 400 foreigners working on investment projects or at resorts.

Kien Giang Province has had 480 infections.

Many other popular tourism destinations like Nha Trang, Da Nang and Hoi An are also under lockdown.

Vietnam has reported over 271,000 infections in its latest and most challenging wave.