Laos has announced a two-week lockdown in the capital Vientiane, with restrictions also ordered in several provinces as the number of COVID cases in the country suddenly climbs, Lao media sources say.

Vientiane will now be shut down from April 22 to May 5, Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh announced on Wednesday. City residents must remain home unless buying groceries or seeking medical help, and travel between the capital and the provinces is now banned, Phankham said.

Only essential state and private workers may now travel to their jobs, and entertainment venues have been completely closed, Phankham said, adding that more testing stations will soon be set up around the city.

“We have 28 more cases of COVID-19 infection today,” Phonepadith Xangsayrath—director general of the Ministry of Health’s National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology—told a press conference in the capital Wednesday.

“Yesterday, we took samples from many of the people who were in contact with the entertainment venues attended by four previous COVID-19 infected persons, and we found that 26 people in Vientiane have tested positive for the virus, ” Phonepadith said.

“Two Lao workers returning from Thailand also tested positive for the same virus in southern Champassak province, which brings our total number of cases to 88. We’re now testing more people in the capital and in some of the high-risk provinces,” he said.