HCMC hunts British man playing hooky from being quarantined

By Huu Nguyen March 11, 2020 | 07:08 am PT

A sign reads "Special Quarantine Area" at a section for Covid-19 patients at HCMC Hospital of Tropical Diseases. Photo by VnExpress/Huu Khoa.

HCMC authorities are searching for a British man who arrived in Vietnam on a flight that carried at least 11 Covid-19 infected passengers.

The HCMC Health Department Wednesday issued an urgent search warrant for Grogan Matthew James Knight, 32, to quarantine him.

Knight arrived in Hanoi on the VN54 flight from London on March 2 and went to Hoi An Town in the central Quang Nam Province on March 5. On March 7, he came to Ho Chi Minh City.

Officials contacted the man, but he refused to provide his exact location in the city.

The VN54 flight carried 217 passengers and crew members. So far, 13 passengers, two Vietnamese and 11 foreigners, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Another 23 people on the flight contacted by HCMC have tested negative.

Vietnam has recorded 22 new novel coronavirus patients in the last five days, bringing the total to 38, 16 of whom were discharged weeks ago.