Two new cases take national Covid-19 count to 257

The new cases take the country's count of active infections to 113, after the number of discharges from hospitals rose to 144 Friday, with no death recorded to date.

"Patient 256" is a 52-year-old resident of Van Lam District in the northern province of Hung Yen. He landed in Hanoi March 27 at the Noi Bai International Airport on Aeroflot flight SU290 from Russia. He was quarantined upon arrival and is now being treated at the National Hospital of Tropical Disease.

"Patient 257" is a 15-year-old girl who resides in Ha Loi Village, Me Linh District, Hanoi. On March 20, a man who is her father's friend and later became "Patient 243," visited her house. She tested positive April 8 after developing a fever and a runny nose.

"Patient 243" is a 47-year-old resident of Ha Loi Village. On March 12, he took his wife to the Bach Mai Hospital's department of immunology and allergy for a check-up. Nine days later he had a fever and suffered body pain. 

On March 30 he visited a commune medical facility to submit his health declaration, and was told to self-quarantine at home. By then he’d had close contact with family members and business partners. His samples were taken on April 4 by the Hanoi Center for Disease Control and the results came back positive two days later. His family members have been quarantined. Two of his neighbors have also tested positive.

The Bach Mai Hospital in Dong Da District is currently the country's biggest Covid-19 hotspot.

Ha Loi Village has recorded five Covid-19 cases so far – patients 243, 250, 253, 254 and the latest, 257. The whole village, with 2,711 households and 11,077 people, has been isolated.

The Health Ministry Friday sent a team of pandemic experts to Ha Loi Village to help locals tackle their new situation.

The nation has entered the third stage of the epidemic with several community transmission cases and some cases where the transmission source has not been detected yet. The situation requires strict social distancing, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son said Tuesday.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected 210 countries and territories, claiming the lives of more than 95,700 people.