An American man who is living in the central city of Danang has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, becoming 68th Covid-19 patient in Vietnam, the Ministry of Health announced late Wednesday morning.

According to a report from the ministry, the 41-year-old man left Vietnam on February 11 and had gone through eight countries including India, Spain, Morocco, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Holland, and Singapore before returning to Danang International Airport on March 14.

After seeing his health declarations, authorities at Danang Airport sent him to a local hospital for quarantine.

His samples showed positive for the virus on the morning of March 18.

As of March 18, Danang has reported four Covid-19 cases including two British tourists, a local saleswoman who came in close contact with the two tourists, and the American man.

The Ministry of Health said that after 16 patients were discharged, there are now 52 Covid-19 cases being treated at local hospitals. Two of them including a British man and a Vietnamese woman are in serious condition as they have other diseases. Others are recovering, with five have showed negative for the virus at least once.

A 36-year-old man, who recently went on a trip to Malaysia, washas been confirmed as the 67th infection of the SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam.

The Ministry of Health announced on March 18 morning that the patient resides in Van Lam 3 hamlet of Phuoc Nam commune, Thuan Nam district, the central province of Ninh Thuan.

He and the 61st case of COVID-19 went to Malaysia on February 27 and returned to Vietnam on March 4 on Flight VJ826 from Malaysia to Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The man is currently undergoing treatment at the General Hospital of Ninh Thuan province.

The test result was provided by the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang city. Samples of 16 other people who had close contact with the 61st case tested negative.

As of March 18 morning, there have been 67 COVID-19 patients in Vietnam, including 16 who had been discharged from hospital.

The 62nd patient is an 18-year-old Vietnamese students returning from the UK on March 16 on a flight of Vietnam Airlines which landed in Van Don airport, Quang Ninh province. Testing at the airport showed he was positive for SARS-CoV-2 and the result was confirmed later. He is now hospitalized at the Vietnam-Thuy Dien Uong Bi hospital in Quang Ninh, in stable health condition

The 63rd case is also a Vietnamese student returning from the UK. After her flight landed in Noi Bai airport, Hanoi, on March 15, she was tested and confirmed to be positive for the coronavirus. The 20-year-old girl is in stable health condition and being treated at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases No2.

The 64th patient is a 34-year-old woman residing in Ho Chi Minh City. She travelled from Switzerland through Dubai to Vietnam on March 12, and was taken to a concentrated quarantine facility on March 16. She tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on March 17, but showed no symptoms.

The 65th patient, who resides in Ho Chi Minh City, had contact with and worked together with the 45th and 48th patients on March 7 and 10. The 28-year-old woman was taken to a concentrated quarantine facility on March 13, and confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus on March 17.

The 64th and 65th patients are now hospitalized in the Cu Chi acute respiratory disease hospital. They are both in stable health condition.

The 66th case, also a resident in Ho Chi Minh City, flew from Pennsylvania, the US on March 14 to Toronto (Canada) then Taiwan (China) and arrived in Vietnam on March 16. Tests the same day confirmed the 21-year-old woman was infected with SARS-CoV-2. She has so far showed no symptom.

Hai Phong quarantines all recent arrivals from abroad

The northern port city of Hai Phong has moved to implement mandatory medical isolation on both local citizens and foreign nationals who have recently arrived from abroad, with the regulations including all countries, regardless of if they’ve been hit by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or not.

This policy comes after the city’s leaders requested that all district authorities, along with the management board of the Hai Phong Economic Zone, put in place measures to pick up all recent arrivals from other countries at Cat Bi International Airport before immediately transferring them to the city’s centralised isolation areas.

Previously, the Hai Phong Department of Health had reported that four Vietnamese citizens from pandemic hit countries, including Iran and Indonesia, had arrived on two separate flights from Ho Chi Minh City to the northern city on the evening of March 16. Signs of the virus were discovered when each of the cases recorded symptoms of fever with their respective temperatures being above 37.4 degrees Celsius.

This change in regulation has led Hai Phong to collaborate with localities in a bid to strictly monitor any passengers who had been on either of these two flights, whilst ordering drastic measures to be taken in line with regulations set by the Ministry of Health to prevent the further spread of the disease.

Positive news came out of the port city on March 17 when it was confirmed that four cases had tested negative for the COVID-19 for the first time, while an additional eight other suspected cases had also the tested negative for the virus.

At present, a total of 158 out of 159 samples which have been taken from suspected cases have come back negative for the COVID-19.

Foreign tourists suspected of carrying coronavirus isolated at resorts

A corner of Hoi An Beach Resort in Hoi An City and Sam Grand Hotel in Danang City (inset) are being used as safe isolation accommodations for foreign tourists who are suspected of being infected with the coronavirus

From March 16, Hoi An Beach Resort at No. 1, Cua Dai Street in Quang Nam Province's Hoi An City will be used as a safe isolation accommodation for foreign tourists in the central city who are suspected of being infected with coronavirus.

This arrangement was made based on the agreement between the Quang Nam Province Steering Committee on Covid-19 Pandemic Prevention and Hoi An Tourism Service JSC, the resort’s investor.

The two sides have been working together on cleaning and disinfecting the resort, so that foreign guests in need can isolate themselves for 14 days based on Vietnamese regulations. Other guests at the resort have been encouraged to move to Hoi An Hotel at 10 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hoi An City.

According to the steering committee, by 12 p.m. yesterday, 99 out of 101 foreign travelers in Quang Nam Province were asked to self-isolate at the Vietnamese Farmers Association’s guest house or self-isolate at hotels around Hoi An City. Many of them were on the same flights as the 17th and 46th coronavirus patients. The remaining two are being isolated in Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province.

Meanwhile, Danang City authorities yesterday chose three-star Sam Grand Hotel at No. 7, Pham Van Dong Street, Son Tra District, Danang City, as an isolation site for foreign visitors.

According to the latest announcement of the Danang City Steering Committee on Covid-19 Pandemic Prevention, this move is aimed at enhancing control over the pandemic and making foreign guests feel safer and more comfortable. The foreigners will be isolated for 14 days and tested regularly.

“According to the Prime Minister's directive, the isolation measure is still free of charge for everyone,” said Hoang Khanh Hung, a member of the steering committee. He added that the Sam Grand hotel has agreed to support the city based on the “cost sharing” principle.

Sam Grand Hotel has 150 rooms. The meeting rooms and lobby can also be utilized, if necessary.

Some 14 foreigners are suspected of being infected with Covid-19 and have been hospitalized at Danang Hospital and Hospital 1999 by the Ministry of Public Security, apart from two British tourists under treatment who have twice tested negative.

HCMC calls for health declarations from those attending worship service in Malaysia

Air passengers submit their health declarations. The HCMC Center for Disease Control today, March 17, issued an urgent announcement asking those who had earlier attended a religious ceremony in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur to make health declarations - PHOTO: SGGP

The HCMC Center for Disease Control today, March 17, issued an urgent announcement asking those who had earlier attended a religious ceremony in Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur to make health declarations.

The church service took place from February 27 to March 1, the local media reported.

The Malaysian authority noted that the religious event was attended by 14,500 Malaysian citizens and 1,500 foreigners. After the event, several cases of coronavirus were found.

Vietnam’s 61st coronavirus patient, residing in Thuan Nam District in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, also attended this worship service.

The 42-year-old man entered Malaysia on February 27 and returned to Vietnam on Flight VJ826, which landed at HCMC-based Tan Son Nhat International Airport on March 4.

The patient is being treated at Ninh Thuan General Hospital’s Department of Tropical Diseases.

The city’s Center for Disease Control announced that the participants in the worship service in Kuala Lumpur must isolate themselves at home and contact their local healthcare facilities or dial the Ministry of Health’s hotline at 1900 9059 or 1900 3228 for guidance on coronavirus infection prevention measures, in line with regulations.

Participants who live in HCMC are urged to contact the districts’ healthcare centers or the HCMC Center for Disease Control.

Eight COVID-19 stations start work in Quảng Ninh

Checking people’s temperature with a remote measuring machine at the Móng Cái Border Gate in the northern province of Quảng Ninh.

Eight supervision stations for people and vehicles going in and out the northern province of Quảng Ninh started work from Wednesday.

It’s part of the province’s efforts to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading.

The eight stations are located in border areas with four neighbouring provinces and cities including Hải Phòng, Hải Dương, Lạng Sơn and Bắc Giang.

Workers at the stations are police, medical workers and transport inspectors.

Each station has from six to nine people divided into three teams. They take turns working all day.

They are responsible for checking foreigners and Vietnamese people coming in and out the province, checking people’s temperature and travel history, especially those from areas with confirmed COVID-19 cases.

More flights with passengers contracting COVID-19 announced

Passengers at Noi Bai International Airport

The Ministry of Health on March 17 evening issued an urgent notice on flights with passengers on board contracting COVID-19.

The flights comprise EK392 from Dubai to Ho Chi Minh City on March 12, and BR395 from Taiwan (China) to HCM City on March 16.

The ministry asked all the passengers on the flights to contact disease control centres of cities and provinces for guidance on health monitoring.

Airline ticket agents are responsible for notifying the passengers who bought tickets for those flights.

Besides, passengers who were on flight TG917 from London to Bangkok on March 15 and took a transit flight to Vietnam will also need to contact the municipal and provincial disease control centres, the ministry said.

Eight other flights with passengers on board contracting COVID-19 were announced by the ministry on March 16.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam stands at 66 now, 16 of them have been discharged from hospital following their full recovery. VNA/VNN

Total COVID-19 cases in Vietnam now 61

The Ministry of Health on March 16 evening announced the latest case of COVID-19, the 61st, in the country.