COVID-19 patient treated and quarantined in Dong Van District General Hospital (Source: VNA)

Chairman of the district People’s Committee Hoang Van Thinh said the lockdown will last until a further announcement from the Ministry of Health. The township, covering nearly 27,500 ha, is home to 1,629 households with 7,623 people.

Ha Giang recorded its first COVID-19 infection case on April 16 - a H’Mong ethnic minority girl in Dong Van district’s Pho La commune.

The source of her infection is yet to be determined. She has three brothers who all work across the border in China but none have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease.

Health authorities have to date taken test samples from 358 people that had contact with the patient. Of these, 302 samples were negative, with the remainder still waiting for results.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Duc Quy said it has decided to quarantine Pin Tung hamlet in Dong Van district, the Pho Bang general health clinic where she visited for a check-up on April 8, and the Dong Van District General Hospital where she is being treated and has been quarantined since April 16.

The committee has urged leaders of the People’s Committees of the province’s 10 districts and Ha Giang city to take preventive measures and speed up information dissemination to raise public awareness on pandemic prevention and control, especially among ethnic minority groups and in border areas./.VNA