As of 2nd July 2020, 340 out of 355 confirmed COVID-19 patients in Vietnam have recovered, leaving the country with only 15 active cases. Among them, only 11 are still testing positive for the coronavirus, while the other 8 have had at least 1 negative test result.
But despite the promising numbers, Vietnam has still not let its guard down and is still on the lookout for any potential threat to public health. Yesterday, it was reported that a man in Hồ Chí Minh City had tested positive for COVID-19, prompting local authorities to carry out urgent preventive measures.
Image credit: Bệnh Viện Sản Nhi Quảng Ninh
The man who tested positive for COVID-19 in Hồ Chí Minh City was reported to be a 30-year-old Indonesian. He first came to Vietnam on 11th March, and stayed in the southern province of Bình Dương between then and 29th June for work.
On 30th June, the man went to a clinic in Hồ Chí Minh City for a health check to prepare to go home, after which he visited the Bến Thành Market, a tourist attraction in the city, for sightseeing. He then returned to Bình Dương on the same day.
However, his test came back positive for COVID-19, and the man was immediately taken to the Bình Dương General Hospital for quarantine on the night of 30th June. 20 people at the clinic he went to, including patients and medical workers, were also isolated.
On 1st July, local authorities continued to locate others who have had close contact with the man, taking in a total of 145 people for testing.
The development was first reported late last night, causing concerns among the Vietnamese community. However, there have been new reports this morning that the Indonesian man and all the others associated with him have tested negative for COVID-19.
4 COVID-19 patients were discharged from the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases this morning
Image credit: National Hospital of Tropical Diseases
One previously confirmed COVID-19 patient was declared free of the disease and discharged from the Hồ Chí Minh City Hospital of Tropical Diseases yesterday, adding to Vietnam’s total recovery count.
This patient, recorded as Patient 335, is a 24-year-old man who had lived in Kuwait for 2 years. He came back to Tân Sơn Nhất Airport on 16th June and was quarantined on arrival. Upon testing positive for COVID-19, he was moved to the hospital for treatment. The man has now been discharged after having several negative tests in a row.
This morning, the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi also discharged 4 women who had returned from other countries in June and had previously been confirmed positive for COVID-19. This means Vietnam has so far recorded a total of 340 recoveries.
All discharged patients will remain in isolation for another 14 days for further monitoring.
Vietnam is testing a COVID-19 vaccine prototype on mice, and initial results have been promising
Image credit: VNExpress
Meanwhile, the 43-year-old Scottish man known as Patient 91, one of the most critical COVID-19 cases of Vietnam, is on track to recover. The UK embassy in Vietnam has suggested sending him home on 12th July, sodoctors will be holding a meeting in the next few days to decide whether the man is healthy enough for the 12-hour journey. If he is deemed fit to go home, a team of medical workers will be deployed to assist him during the flight.
Vietnam also expects to have a complete vaccine for the coronavirus by October 2021. Last week, it was reported that initial tests of a vaccine prototype have yielded promising results on mice.
We Vietnamese were indeed concerned upon hearing about a new positive case in the community yesterday. However, it was reassuring to see that the government is prepared to respond quickly to any new development. News of the man testing negative this morning also comes as a relief.
People are debating online whether this is a false positive, or if the man had contracted the virus before and had been asymptomatic. In any case, the threat of the virus is still present, and practicing preventive measures such as wearing masks to protect ourselves is never redundant.
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Cover image adapted from Bệnh Viện Sản Nhi Quảng Ninh, National Hospital of Tropical Diseases
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