All 689 inmates, staff at Binh Duong drug rehab test coronavirus positive

The positive test results at Bo La Drug Rehabilitation Center were confirmed Thursday night, said Le Minh Tan, director of the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs which manages the facility, Tien Phong newspaper reported.

The center is in Phuoc Hoa Commune of Phu Giao District in Binh Duong that borders HCMC.

Tan has requested HCMC People's Committee to send support to the center to maintain order.

All positive cases are now being taken care of. A team of 21 doctors from Nhan Ai Hospital have been dispatched to the center to also create a field facility, said Tan, as cited by Tuoi Tre.

The cluster first came to light on July 17 when two employees had a slight fever and headache, and a rapid test found them positive for the coronavirus.

The center houses drug addicts with serious convictions and inmates who violated discipline at other rehab facilities in Ho Chi Minh City.

HCMC labor department manages 12 rehab facilities with more than 14,000 people in HCMC, Binh Duong and the neighboring provinces of Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai.

In the current Covid wave that broke out in late April, HCMC has recorded 48,863 cases to become the nation’s epicenter, with Binh Duong having reported 5,405.