HCMC – The Health Ministry has confirmed four new locally-transmitted cases of Covid-19 in Hanoi, HCMC and the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, bringing Vietnam’s total infections to 450 by this evening, July 29.
All of the new cases are linked to Danang, which is now the country’s largest coronavirus hotspot.
The 447th patient travelled to the central city of Danang from July 12 to 15. The 23-year-old Hanoian resident self-isolated at home between July 25 and 28 after he developed symptoms such as fever, cough, and fatigue on July 23. He visited the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi for a medical check-up and has received treatment there since July 28.
The patient in Dak Lak, tagged as the 448th case, worked as a medical intern at Danang Hospital between June 22 and July 17. The 21-year-old patient had a fever and a sore throat on July 20. She was admitted for medical treatment at Central Highlands General Hospital on July 27.
The remaining two, husband and wife living in Danang, are staying in HCMC.
The husband, an American national aged 57, was admitted to Hoan My Hospital in Danang after he presented symptoms including fever, cough, shortness of breath, and body aches on June 26.
Between July 6 and 27, he was treated at Danang Hospital for a couple of weeks before moving to HCMC for treatment at Cho Ray Hospital and the City International Hospital (CIH).
His wife, a local woman aged 46, took care of him while he was in the hospitals. She started to show symptoms such as runny nose and fatigue from July 26.
Aside from the four hospitals, the American man and his wife had been to many places in HCMC, including the Thanh Danh 2 Hotel in District 11 and their house in District 8. They also interacted with Grab drivers, relatives and friends.
The HCMC Center for Disease Control and Prevention discovered that over 100 people had close contact with these two Covid-19 cases found in HCMC. All of them have been tested for Covid-19 and put in quarantine.
Besides this, CIH has suspended operations for three days, from July 29 to 31. The Thanh Danh 2 Hotel and an alley in District 8 where the two cases frequently travelled to were put on lockdown to prevent the spread of the disease.
