Laos recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 death after a woman from Vietnam infected with the disease died Sunday.
Laos has mostly escaped the pandemic - reporting only two-digit infections. However, a string of community outbreaks last month quickly increased those figures - from 49 in early April to more than 1,302 this month.
Officials confirmed Monday a 53-year-old Vietnam woman had died as a result of COVID-19. State-run news media outlet Vientiane Times reported the death was the country's first coronavirus fatality.
Laos officially lost its place among the few countries that have yet to suffer a fatality. This includes remote island nations and tiny states such as Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Macao, Greenland and Brunei.
The news outlet said the woman had worked at a karaoke club in capital Vientiane. She had underlying health issues. After she was infected, her condition reportedly deteriorated quickly.
Officials said the recent community outbreaks were traced back to one Laos national who came into contact with travelers from Thailand. The "superspreader" was believed to have given inaccurate travel and health condition information. Other recent outbreaks were also traced to Laos workers that traveled from Thailand, which is currently fighting a third wave of infections.
In mid-April Laos went into a nationwide lockdown. Residents were restricted from traveling or going out except for essentials. Public transport and nonessential businesses were forced to shut and travel was prohibited between cities and other provinces.
As of Monday, Laos has recorded 1,327 coronavirus cases and one death since the start of the pandemic last year. Laos officials reported 25 new coronavirus cases Sunday.
According to Oxford University's Our World in Data, Laos has already administered 184,387 coronavirus vaccine doses to its more than 7.28 million people.
