March 09, 2020 | 17:26 (GMT+7)
COVID-19: more passengers on same flight with 17th patient test negative
Twenty people on the same flight from London to Hanoi (VN0054) with the 17th COVID-19 patient of Vietnam who then traveled to Ho Chi Minh City have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, reported the HCM City Center for Disease Control and Prevention on March 8.
They include four Vietnamese residing in Ho Chi Minh City, an Australian of Vietnamese origin, and 15 foreign tourists.
Among them, five foreigners took flight VN223 from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, then boarded the Viking Cruise ship to travel to Cambodia on March 4.
One of these five passengers shared the same business class cabin with the 17th COVID-19 patient, and is being quarantined on the ship.
The center has asked passengers who sat in the same cabin with the quarantined person on flight VN223 to immediately contact local medical stations and fill in health declarations. Other passengers on the flight should monitor their health at home as guided by the Health Ministry.
Also on March 8, the Health Department of the Northern province of Hai Duong said two passengers on flight VN0054 who returned to the province have tested negative to SARS-CoV-2.
In the Northern province of Quang Ninh, nine foreigners who arrived in Vietnam on flight VN0054, including four testing positive to the virus, have been sent to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases for treatment and quarantine.
All areas at high risk of infection in Ha Long city have been zoned off for quarantine.
Nine new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Vietnam as late March 8, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam so far to 30. Among the cases, the first 16 patients were cured and discharged from hospital in February. The 17th patient was confirmed on late March 6, followed by more infections.
Source: VNA