Vietnam reports 1st COVID-19 death as community infections surge

Vietnamese health authorities said Friday that a 70-year-old man being treated for COVID-19 in central Vietnam has become the country's first person to die of the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.Until now, Vietnam had been relatively spared amid the pandemic, compared with some of its neighbors, with the total number of confirmed cases standing at just 509 as of Friday morning, according to the Vietnam News Agency.Since mid-April, confirmed infections had been limited to returnees to Vietnam.Last Saturday, however, community transmission was detected in the coastal city …READ FULL ARTICLE