Seven Covid-19 patients in HCMC to be discharged

All seven patients were treated at the Cu Chi field hospital, around 70 kilometers (43 miles) northwest of downtown HCMC. They will be discharged from the hospital on Sunday and Monday. After discharge, they will continue to be quarantined at medical facilities near their homes and their health monitored.

Among the patients to be discharged are a 25-year-old man in Tan Binh District, who was confirmed infected with the virus March 13 after working and having dinner with an infected businesswoman in the south central province of Binh Thuan, and a 53-year-old Czech citizen who had come into contact with some Italian nationals in his home country before flying to Saigon and being confirmed positive on March 14.

The others are a 36-year-old woman in District 2 who flew back from Switzerland, a 28-year-old woman from Go Vap District who’d come into contact with her colleague in Tan Binh District, and a female overseas student in District 7 who returned from the U.S. The trio were confirmed positive for novel coronavirus on March 17.

The two remaining patients are a 48-year-old woman who resides in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu who returned from London on March 15 and was confirmed infected on March 19; and a 21 year-old Vietnamese woman living in Binh Thanh District returning from Spain, who was confirmed positive on March 20.

Under Health Ministry regulations, a person infected with the novel coronavirus is deemed healthy once she/he shows no sign of fever for three days and tests negative twice in three days. Other signs include improved clinical symptoms, overall stable status and vital signs, normal organ function and improved chest X-ray readings.

At the moment, 21 other Covid-19 patients in Vietnam have tested negative twice and are waiting for another test to confirm them free of the virus before being discharged. Meanwhile, 23 other patients have tested negative for the first time.

As of Saturday morning, the nation had confirmed 169 and discharged 20, including three in Da Nang City on Friday.

Many of remaining active cases are Vietnamese nationals retuning from Europe and the U.S. and foreigners visiting from the same regions. Starting March 22, Vietnam has suspended entry for all foreign nationals, including those of Vietnamese origin and family members with visa waivers.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far killed more than 27,200 people in 199 countries and territories.