Covid-19 tally: nine new cases, eight linked to Hanoi hospital

Of the eight linked to the hospital, one is a patient and seven are employees of the Truong Sinh Company, which provides food and logistic services to the hospital, one of the country's largest.

The seven employees of Truong Sinh, patients 195, 196, 198, 199, 200, 201 and 202, are all female, aged 41, 34, 53, 57, 61, 23 and 57 respectively.

"Patient 197," a 41-year-old man, resides in Thanh Oai District, Hanoi. He had come to the Bach Mai Hospital for a health check on March 12. Swab samples taken on March 29 showed he was Covid-19 positive.

All the eight patients are being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and are in stable condition.

"Patient 203," is a 35-year-old Vietnamese woman landed March 17 at Saigon’s Tan Son Nhat Airport on Turkish Airlines flight TK162 on seat 21A, flying in from Greece and transiting in Turkey.

She was asymptomatic and sent to a quarantine facility in Nha Be District in HCMC upon arrival. Her swab samples were confirmed Covid-19 positive on March 27 after tests done at the city's Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

With the latest additions, 33 of Vietnam’s total of 203 confirmed coronavirus infections are associated with the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi’s Dong Da District. The hospital, a Covid-19 hotspot now, was locked down Saturday.

On Saturday night, the Vietnamese Army's chemical division disinfected the hospital. Earlier the same day, the hospital suspended admitting new patients.

Nguyen Quang Tuan, director of the isolated hospital, said Monday there was not enough food and necessities reaching around 3,500 people trapped inside.

With Monday morning’s discharges, the total number of Covid-19 patients released from hospitals has gone up to 55.

Many of the currently active cases are Vietnamese nationals returning from Europe and the U.S., foreigners coming from the same regions and those who’d come into contact with both groups of people.

The government decided Sunday to suspend all international passenger flights to Vietnam and limit flights between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other localities in the coming two weeks.

Starting March 22, Vietnam has suspended entry for all foreign nationals, including those of Vietnamese origin and family members with visa waivers and halted all international flights from March 25.

The Covid-19 pandemic has killed more than 34,000 people in 199 countries and territories.