British Covid-19 patient in Hue discharged

The 58-year-old man, "Patient 33" in Vietnam, is the first to recover from the Covid-19 infection at the hospital in Hue. Three other British nationals are still undergoing treatment for the disease at this hospital.

The discharged patient will receive medical monitoring for at least two more weeks in Vietnam.

Nguyen Thanh Xuan, deputy director of the Hue hospital, said that when they received the four patients, doctors and nurses were quite worried because they had not treated any Covid-19 patients before.

"Patient 33 has tested negative twice, which meets the Health Ministry criteria to announce if a patient is free from the new coronavirus."

"This first success will motivate the team at the Hue Central Hospital to continue treating the remaining patients."

For the past three weeks, all staff directly involved in treating the British patients have worked nonstop and have not seen their families, he said.

The other three patients are all in stable condition.

"Patient 33" was confirmed infected March 10, after touching down in Hanoi from London on Vietnam Airlines flight VN54 on March 2. At least 16 people on the flight were infected with the virus, including the other three British patients in Hue.

The wife of "Patient 33," who traveled with him, tested negative for the coronavirus and has already left Vietnam after completing her 14-day quarantine.

The British man is the 21st Covid-19 patient who has recovered and been discharged in Vietnam. On Friday, three other patients including two British men were discharged from a hospital in Da Nang.

The nation has recorded 169 infections so far, with six added Saturday morning.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far killed more than 27,300 people in 199 countries and territories.