Hanoi public cancer hospital locked down after 10 found with coronavirus

K Hospital’s facility in Tan Trieu Commune, Thanh Tri District, found six patients and four of their relatives testing positive, the capital's Center for Disease Control (CDC) said.

Chu Ngoc Anh, chairman of the city People's Committee, and Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan said one of them had earlier been treated for a month at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, which has been placed under lockdown and 38 people there were found to have Covid in the last few days.

That patient went on to infect the others at K Hospital, Thuan said.

Over 2,000 hospital employees are now being tested.

There are around 1,400 inpatients at the Tan Trieu facility, which specializes in treating tumors.

The hospital has one more branch in Thanh Tri and another in Hoan Kiem.

A spokesperson said cancer patients often have weakened immune systems, and so Covid might manifest severely in them.

On Friday morning a section of Phung Hung Street near the hospital was packed with curious passersby.

Nguyen Tich of the north central Thanh Hoa Province was supposed to have blood samples taken for tests that morning and so did not have any breakfast. But the 70-year-old man was unable to enter the hospital due to the lockdown and decided to rent an apartment nearby instead of returning all the way home.

In Hanoi 47 people have been diagnosed with Covid since the fourth wave began last week in 15 cities and provinces.

Several places in the capital have been locked down, including the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, designated a frontline facility in the pandemic fight.

The outbreak at the hospital has spread, causing dozens of infections in at least 14 localities besides Hanoi.

Vietnam has had 121 cases in the latest outbreak.

Over 747,000 people have been vaccinated against the disease.

Some 40,000 people are in quarantine.