HCMC discharges four Covid-19 free patients

Hospital director Nguyen Thanh Dung said that the newly discharged patients will be quarantined for another 14 days to make doubly sure that any chance of the virus being spread among the community is removed, as per Health Ministry regulations.

"Patient 64", a 36-year-old resident of Nguyen Thi Tan Street in Ward 2, District 8, HCMC, had flown back from Switzerland to Vietnam, transiting in Dubai before landing March 12 at the Tan Son Nhat airport on Emirates flight EK392 along with her boyfriend, who had traveled to Hong Kong.

"Patient 66", 21, is a resident of the Park View apartment building at 107 Nguyen Duc Canh Street in HCMC's District 7.

"Patient 79" is a 48-year-old woman who resides in Dong Hai District in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu. She'd been living in the U.K. for the last two years.

"Patient 90" is a 21 year-old Vietnamese woman living in Binh Thanh District, HCMC. She was in Barcelona, Spain for a month as an intern. On March 15, she traveled from Barcelona to Dubai on Emirates flight EK188 and then to the Tan Son Nhat airport on Emirates flight EK392, seat 36A.

It is expected that three more patients at the Cu Chi field hospital, around 70 kilometers (43 miles) northwest of downtown HCMC, will be discharged Monday.

HCMC has so far recorded 45 Covid-19 cases, three of whom were discharged from hospitals in February.

Of Vietnam's 179 Covid-19 infections, 25 have been discharged after treatment, including four let go Sunday.

Many of the currently active cases are Vietnamese nationals returning from Europe and the U.S. and foreigners coming from the same regions.

Starting March 22, Vietnam 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 until further notice.

Only Vietnamese nationals and foreigners having diplomatic and official passports such as business managers, experts and high-skilled workers are being allowed to enter the country at this time, and all entrants are quarantined for 14 days.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far killed more than 30,800 people in 199 countries and territories.