Case 117 is a male patient, 30, a Vietnamese national residing in Tan Hung district in the southern province of Long An.

The patient spent time travelling in Phnom Penh, Cambodia over the course of March 9-19. On March 16, he got illness with a fever, a cough, and shortness of breath. On Mach 19, the patient returned to Vietnam through Moc Bai-Tay Ninh border gate and was transferred to Tay Ninh Province General Hospital to undergo isolation, treatment and sampling.

When hospitalized, the patient still has a fever, a cough, and shortness of breath and is now kept in quarantine at the provincial general hospital.

Case 118 is a 23 year-old female patient who is a Vietnamese national living in Chau Phu district, An Giang province. He gets chronic bronchitis.

He also came back Vietnam from Cambodia, also via Moc Bai-Tay Ninh border gate. At the border gate, the patient was discovered with indications of fever, cough, and shortness of breath and was subsequently dispatched to Tay Ninh General Hospital for isolation and treatment.

Earlier, the Ministry of Health on March 23 confirmed three further cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, including a doctor, taking the total number of infections in Vietnam to 116.

The 114th patient is a 19-year old male Vietnamese national who resides in Hoang Mai district of Hanoi. He had been studying in the Netherlands and returned to Vietnam on March 15 on flight SQ176. 

The patient was admitted to the National Tropical Diseases Hospital in Dong Anh district after displaying symptoms such as a high temperature of  38 degrees Celsius along with a sore throat on March 19.

His samples were then tested by the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases on March 21 with the results coming back positive for the COVID-19, subsequently being confirmed by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

The 115th case is a 44 -year- old female Vietnamese national who lives in the Czech Republic. She is the daughter of the 94th COVID-19 patient and arrived at Noi Bai International Airport on flight SU290 along with her mother on March 18.

After landing in the country, she was immediately transferred to a concentrated isolation facility in Bac Giang province alongside her mother, with screening results coming back negative on March 18 by the Hanoi Center for Disease Control.

Her sample then tested positive for the novel coronavirus following tests done by the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

The 116th patient is a 29-year-old Vietnamese doctor who has been treating coronavirus infected patients at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases Hospital in Dong Anh district.

He tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on March 21 after starting to show symptoms of sore throat,  cough, muscle ache, and fever over the course of March 19-20.

Medical workers who had been working alongside the infected doctor were then placed under supervision, with their samples showing  negative results for the virus on March 21.

At present, all COVID-19 patients are being isolated and under treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases where they remain in stable health condition.

Hanoi initiates measures to ensure sufficient goods for COVID-19 fight

In the face of an increasingly complicated situation regarding the social and economic impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, Hanoi has requested that centralised distribution systems move to increase commodity reserves in an effort to ensure that supply resources to the capital are maintained within the next 60 to 90 days.

The request came during a recent meeting held between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Hanoi People's Committee which discussed the need to prepare a sufficient amount of goods in response to the possibility of the epidemic affecting Hanoi.

This comes as a response to the capital confirming its first positive COVID-19 case which saw distribution businesses immediately initiate plans to transfer goods. According to businesses, the current level of stockpiling has surged by up to five times the usual amount.

Consequently, the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade has completed a detailed stockpile plan whilst simultaneously directing suppliers and producers to ensure that there remains a sufficient supply of goods for distribution systems in order to meet people’s needs.

Most notably, the Department has planned for a range of scenarios to ensure that goods are provided for people in quarantine. The city has therefore requested that production and business units ensure the consistent supply of essential items as a means of providing people with a sufficient amount of goods.

Tran Thi Phuong Lan, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said Hanoi is working to satisfy people’s needs for commodities in any situation, especially for cases where individuals have been put into isolation.

“We have ensured the volume of goods for businesses in the metropolitan area as well as nearby districts. The People’s Committees at a district and township-level must remain active in signing contracts with these distributors," Lan added.

At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai underlined the need to stay vigilant when it comes to developments with regard to the actual market situation in order to co-ordinate with enterprises to implement supportive measures aimed at ensuring the supply of essential goods is maintained.

In particular, firms need to maintain price stabilisation and a consistent standard in their products whilst also enhancing links among localities to ensure goods distribution and meeting the urgent needs of locals, Hai noted. VOV/VNN

One doctor among three new COVID-19 infection cases confirmed, total rises to 116

The Ministry of Health on Monday morning confirmed three more COVID-19 infection cases, including one doctor, bringing the total to 116.