The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (SEZ) went into lockdown on Friday after four people who had spent time in the area tested positive for Covid-19.
A notice was issued by the Deputy Governor of Bokeo Province ordering the lockdown after a 23-year-old restaurant worker traveled from the SEZ to her hometown in Thakhek, Khammouane Province on 11 July, visiting multiple locations before testing positive for the virus and being admitted to hospital.
Khammouane Province is now considered an at-risk area, with health officials on high alert for new infections.
Meanwhile, officials in Bokeo are attempting to undertake contact tracing to find others who may be infected.
Reports of infections originating in the SEZ perpetuate, with workers traveling from the area in mid-July causing panic in Luang Prabang and Oudomxay after one member of the group tested positive for Covid-19 in Oudomxay Province.
Similarly, community spread was confirmed in Luang Namtha after a Chinese national traveled from Bokeo to the province and tested positive for the coronavirus while en route to China.
The Golden Triangle SEZ will remain under lockdown until 15 August, with unauthorized entry and exit into the area prohibited.
