Four new cases take Vietnam’s Covid-19 count to 249

"Patient 247," a 28-year-old man residing in Ward 1, Binh Thanh District, HCMC, works with two people connected to the HCMC’s Buddha Bar & Grill, the nation’s second biggest Covid-19 hotspot. He manages the office of Gia Dinh Shoes Co. Ltd. at 20A Dong Khoi Street, Thanh Phu Commune, Vinh Phu District, Dong Nai Province. The company has another office in An Phu Dong Ward, District 2, HCMC.

As a colleague of two infected Brazilians who also work for the same company, the office manager had come into close contact with them.

One of his colleagues, "Patient 124," is a Brazilian man, 52, who lives in HCMC’s District 2. On March 14, he joined a party at the Buddha Bar & Grill in Thao Dien Ward of HCMC’s District 2 and was quarantined on March 22 before testing Covid-19 positive.

The other colleague, "Patient 151," is a 45-year-old Brazilian woman residing in Thao Dien.

After "Patient 124" was confirmed, "Patient 247" was sent to a quarantine camp in Dong Nai on March 24. Two days later, he tested negative for the novel coronavirus.

However, at the quarantine camp, he had stayed in the same room as four others who’d also been in close contact with Patients 124 and 151. On April 6, his samples were tested again, and this time, the results came back Covid-19 positive. He has been transferred to the Dong Nai Lung Hospital for treatment.

The four people who’d been quarantined in the same room as "Patient 247" will continue to stay in quarantine for another 14 days. For now, they have yet to show any Covid-19 symptoms.

"Patient 247" brought the number of cases related to the Buddha Bar & Grill to 19. HCMC's Health Department on Tuesday identified a 43-year-old British man working as a Vietnam Airlines pilot and a 45-year-old Brazilian man, both residing in the city's District 2, as the transmission sources of the bar hotspot. Both are still under treatment.

The nation’s biggest hotspot to date, the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, is linked to 44 cases.

The other three cases confirmed Tuesday evening are Vietnamese returning from abroad who were quarantined on arrival.

"Patient 246" is a 33-year-old man from Yen Thanh District in the central province of Nghe An. He works as a chef in Moscow, Russia, and returned to Vietnam on Aeroflot flight SU290, seat 49F, on March 25. He tested positive on April 6 and is undergoing treatment at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District.

"Patient 248," 20, flew from the U.S. to Vietnam, transiting in Japan on Japan Airlines flight JL079. After landing in HCMC March 23, he was sent to a quarantine camp at a university dormitory in Thu Duc District and stayed in the same room with two other people. On April 5, his samples tested positive. His two roommates have been placed under quarantine for a further 14 days while he has been sent to the Cu Chi District field hospital.

"Patient 249" is a 55-year-old man who flew back from the U.S., transited in Hong Kong, and arrived in Vietnam on March 22. After complaining of a headache and fever, his samples were tested and found positive. He is being treated at Hanoi’s National Hospital of Tropical Diseases.

The latest additions have taken Vietnam’s Covid-19 tally to 249, of whom 122 have been discharged, including 27 on Tuesday.

Of the cases Vietnam has recorded, 156 are overseas returnees. The remaining 93 contracted the virus via close contact with the source of transmission, including 63 from the two hotspots of Buddha Bar and Bach Mai Hospital.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far claimed almost 76,000 lives as it hit 209 countries and territories.