Vietnam&nbsp;has extended the quarantine period for anyone arriving in the country to three weeks, authorities said Wednesday, following a fresh community outbreak of the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">coronavirus</a>.

The nation has so far kept case numbers low,&nbsp;recording&nbsp;just over 3,000 cases and 35 deaths, thanks to strict quarantine measures and extensive contact tracing.

But&nbsp;Vietnam&nbsp;reported its first community outbreak in weeks last Thursday, and other clusters have since emerged.

Several cases have been linked to people who tested positive after their two-week stay in hotel quarantine had ended.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/vietnamese-envoy-gets-first-dose-of-indian-covid-19-vaccine-covaxin-377081">Vietnamese envoy gets first dose of Indian COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin</a>

"The Ministry of Health has decided to extend the period of mandatory quarantine for people who have made close contact with COVID-19 patients and people who have entered&nbsp;Vietnam," said health minister Nguyen Thanh Long.

The new quarantine period will be 21 days.

The announcement came after one of the country's best hospitals,&nbsp;which has treated many COVID-19 patients, went into lockdown Wednesday after a doctor tested positive for the virus.

Fourteen others at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi were later found to be infected.

About 800 medical workers, patients as well as any relatives who were visiting at the time the lockdown was announced must remain in the hospital for two weeks, authorities said.

Vietnam&nbsp;has also detected cases in the community of a COVID-19 variant believed to be behind a devastating surge in infections in India.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/vietnams-pandemic-response-leader-sworn-in-as-president-375407">Vietnam's pandemic response leader sworn in as president</a>

The last community outbreak, centred on the northern city of Hai Duong, was successfully contained last month.

But the country has been on high alert amid a spiralling outbreak in other parts of Southeast Asia including Cambodia and Laos, which both share a border with&nbsp;Vietnam.

Vietnam has extended the quarantine period for anyone arriving in the country to three weeks, authorities said Wednesday, following a fresh community outbreak of the coronavirus.

Vietnam has extended the quarantine period for anyone arriving in the country to three weeks, authorities said Wednesday, following a fresh community outbreak of the coronavirus. The nation has so far kept case numbers low, recording just over 3,000 cases and 35 deaths, thanks to strict quarantine measures and extensive contact tracing. But Vietnam reported its first community outbreak in weeks last Thursday, and other clusters have since emerged. Several cases have been linked to people who tested positive after their two-week stay in hotel quarantine had ended. Also read | Vietnamese envoy gets first dose of Indian COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin "The Ministry of Health has decided to extend the period of mandatory quarantine for people who have made close contact with COVID-19 patients and people who have entered Vietnam," said health minister Nguyen Thanh Long. The new quarantine period will be 21 days. The announcement came after one of the country's best hospitals, which has treated many COVID-19 patients, went into lockdown Wednesday after a doctor tested positive for the virus. Fourteen others at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi were later found to be infected. About 800 medical workers, patients as well as any relatives who were visiting at the time the lockdown was announced must remain in the hospital for two weeks, authorities said. Vietnam has also detected cases in the community of a COVID-19 variant believed to be behind a devastating surge in infections in India. Also read | Vietnam's pandemic response leader sworn in as president The last community outbreak, centred on the northern city of Hai Duong, was successfully contained last month. But the country has been on high alert amid a spiralling outbreak in other parts of Southeast Asia including Cambodia and Laos, which both share a border with Vietnam.

Vietnam extends quarantine for arrivals after new virus outbreak

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a package of controversial anti-terror amendments dubbed &quot;Big Brother&quot; measures by critics that may cost internet companies billions. 
 
The measures, posted online Thursday by the government, boost the surveillance powers for the security services by requiring communication providers to store users&#39; calls, messages, photographs and videos for six months, as well as metadata for up to three years. 
 
They also have to provide security services with access to this data and any necessary encryption mechanisms necessary to use it. 
 
They also criminalise several offences, lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14 for some crimes and extend prison sentences for online crimes like abetting terrorism. 
 
The passage of the bills through Russia&#39;s lower and upper houses of parliament sent shockwaves through the internet and telecoms industries. 
 
In an interview with Kommersant daily published on Thursday, CEO of Megafon mobile provider Sergei Soldatenkov, said that the law as it stands would require the company to spend 200 billion Rubles ($3.1 billion) to ensure the data storage requirement -- four times its annual profit. 
 
&quot;This bill financially kills the telecommunication industry,&quot; he said, instead proposing that the government tax the industry by an additional one percent and use the money to build the necessary infrastructure. 
 
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday that Putin also tasked the government to monitor &quot;how this law is realised&quot; 
and take measures if there are &quot;undesirable&quot; consequences. 
 
The law inspired the former US intelligence contractor turned privacy activist Edward Snowden to issue a rare comment on a domestic policy in Russia, where he is currently living in exile. 
 
Snowden said on Thursday on Twitter it was a &quot;dark day for Russia&quot;. 
 
&quot;Signing the #BigBrother law must be condemned,&quot; he said, adding that he would criticise the law despite fearing retaliation from Russian authorities. 
 
(AFP)

The measures will require the communication providers to store users' calls, messages, photographs and videos for six months

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed into law a package of controversial anti-terror amendments dubbed "Big Brother" measures by critics that may cost internet companies billions. The measures, posted online Thursday by the government, boost the surveillance powers for the security services by requiring communication providers to store users' calls, messages, photographs and videos for six months, as well as metadata for up to three years. They also have to provide security services with access to this data and any necessary encryption mechanisms necessary to use it. They also criminalise several offences, lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14 for some crimes and extend prison sentences for online crimes like abetting terrorism. The passage of the bills through Russia's lower and upper houses of parliament sent shockwaves through the internet and telecoms industries. In an interview with Kommersant daily published on Thursday, CEO of Megafon mobile provider Sergei Soldatenkov, said that the law as it stands would require the company to spend 200 billion Rubles ($3.1 billion) to ensure the data storage requirement -- four times its annual profit. "This bill financially kills the telecommunication industry," he said, instead proposing that the government tax the industry by an additional one percent and use the money to build the necessary infrastructure. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday that Putin also tasked the government to monitor "how this law is realised" and take measures if there are "undesirable" consequences. The law inspired the former US intelligence contractor turned privacy activist Edward Snowden to issue a rare comment on a domestic policy in Russia, where he is currently living in exile. Snowden said on Thursday on Twitter it was a "dark day for Russia". "Signing the #BigBrother law must be condemned," he said, adding that he would criticise the law despite fearing retaliation from Russian authorities. (AFP)

Putin signs controversial anti-terror measures into law

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Vietnam extends quarantine for arrivals after new virus outbreak

Putin signs controversial anti-terror measures into law