HCMC – A combined 121 health workers at three hospitals in HCMC who came into close contact with the two Covid-19 patients have tested negative for the coronavirus.
Dr Nguyen Tri Dung, director of the HCMC Center for Disease Control, told a press briefing on July 29 that among the 121 samples that tested negative, 81 were taken from City International Hospital, 27 belonged to the employees of Cho Ray Hospital and the remainder were taken from Trieu An Hospital.
The 121 healthcare workers remain quarantined, he told the press conference, which was co-held by the municipal Department of Health, the HCMC Pasteur Institute and the HCMC Department of Information and Communications after the Ministry of Health discovered the 449th and 450th cases of Covid-19, who on July 21 traveled to HCMC from Danang City, the country’s latest coronavirus hotspot.
The representative of the HCMC Center for Disease Control also noted that the additional 26 samples taken from other people who came into contact with the two patients are awaiting their test results, Tuoi Tre Online reported.
Apart from contact tracing and taking the samples of people who came into contact with the two patients who tested positive for Covid-19, the health authorities have sprayed disinfectants and locked down the areas and places they visited.
The potential spread of Covid-19 linked to the two Covid-19 cases was basically controlled in the city, said Dung.
Dr Pham Thanh Viet, head of the general planning division at Cho Ray Hospital, said that on July 21, the hospital received the 449th patient from Danang-based Hoan My Hospital, who was diagnosed with pneumonia and pleura effusion.
As such, the patient was sent to an isolation ward of the emergency department, he said, adding that doctors and nurses were equipped with protective gear while checking his health.
After examining the patient, the doctors told him to register for hospitalization, but he asked to be moved to Trieu An Hospital, Viet said.
Viet said that after being informed about the 449th Covid-19 case, the hospital tested 27 medical workers who came into contact with the patient. The preliminary test results returned negative.
The two patients are receiving treatment at the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said Tang Chi Thuong, deputy director of the municipal Department of Health.
