24 New COVID-19 Cases Spotted Among Vietnamese Returning From Russia, All Quarantined Upon Arrival

COVID-19 in Vietnam, update on 15th May

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Since our last update yesterday, 24 new COVID-19 cases have been spotted among Vietnamese citizens returning from Russia.

While that might sound like a major jump, bringing Vietnam’s total patient tally from 288 to 312, it was not unexpected. The government has been making efforts to bring citizens stranded in COVID-stricken countries home and is fully prepared to response to new cases. All of the new patients were quarantined upon arrival with no risk of spreading the virus into the community.

Meanwhile, 8 more patients have recovered, raising the recovery count in the country to 260.

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24 new COVID-19 cases among overseas arrivals

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All 24 new cases are Vietnamese returning from Russia
(Photo for illustration purposes only)
Image credit: Vân Đồn International Airport

The 24 new patients, including 23 men and a woman aged from 24 to 47, were the beneficiaries of the Vietnamese government’s program to bring back citizens working abroad. The flight carrying them back from Russia landed at the Vân Đồn International Airport in the northern province of Quảng Ninh last Wednesday, and all passengers were quarantined upon arrival.

The authorities have affirmed that there is no possibility of community transmission from these latest patients. This means as of Friday morning, Vietnam has gone 29 days without a new infection in the community.

Up to this point, there have been no fatalities associated with the disease in the country. The only remaining critical case is a 43-year-old British man whose lungs have been severely damaged. A transplant is now needed, and doctors are currently looking for a suitable donor.

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8 new patients discharged

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8 more patients were discharged yesterday
Image credit: National Hospital of Tropical Diseases

8 previously-confirmed COVID-19 patients were declared to have recovered and discharged from the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

A notable case among these is a 29-year-old female doctor working at the hospital itself. She reportedly contracted the virus whilst working with a patient and was hospitalized on 25th March. She is the second doctor of Vietnam to have been infected, with the first one being her colleague from the same hospital, who was discharged in early April.

Of the remaining 7, 3 were Vietnamese living overseas who returned in late March, and the other 4 were associated with the former COVID-19 hotspots of Hạ Lôi Hamlet and Bạch Mai Hospital.

As per regulation, all discharged patients will be further monitored for another 14 days.

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15 more flights bringing Vietnamese citizens home in the next 30 days

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There will be 15 more flights bringing overseas Vietnamese citizens back in the next 30 days
Image credit: Vân Đồn International Airport

The Vietnamese government has already scheduled 15 flights in the next 30 days to repatriate more overseas Vietnamese citizens.

These flights will take place between 18th May and 15th June and are expected to bring home 4,300 Vietnamese citizens living in various countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Singapore, and others.

All arrivals will have to serve a 14-day quarantine period upon landing, during which they will be monitored and tested for COVID-19.

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Vietnam leaves no one behind

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When we Vietnamese say that we leave nobody behind in this pandemic, we mean it. From the government to the common citizens, everyone is doing their part to look after the disadvantaged and make sure those who are stranded overseas can come home safely.

For more COVID-19 stories and updates, check out:

• Hanoi pedestrian streets and attractions reopen
• 10 people volunteer to donate lungs to critical COVID-19 patient
• Hanoi university students design fancy masks

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Cover image adapted from: Vân Đồn International Airport, National Hospital of Tropical Diseases

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