Two repatriates from Russia infected with Covid-19

The two patients, men aged 34 and 25, landed at Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh on July 17 via a flight from Russia that transited in Belarus.

They were then sent to quarantine at a military facility in northern Ninh Binh Province. Their first tests on July 19 were negative while the second time on Thursday turned out positive.

The duo has been sent to a general clinic in Ninh Binh for treatment.

Earlier, 19 other passengers on the same Russian flight had been confirmed infected with the disease.

Vietnam’s Covid-19 tally now stays at 415, with 365 recovered and the rest are still under treatment. All the active cases are foreign experts and Vietnamese repatriated from overseas.

The country has operated 60 repatriation flights bringing home more than 16,000 citizens stranded in 50 countries and territories since April.

Saturday morning marks day 100 when Vietnam has yet to detect a case caused by community transmission.

The health authorities are still waiting for another test result of a suspected case, a 57-year-old man in the central city of Da Nang. Tests from Da Nang C Hospital, which he visited after coughing and feeling tired this week, turned out positive, so as a following test by the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang.

The hospital has been locked down, Da Nang has closed its airport from repatriation flights and other special flights carrying foreign experts. The city is also preparing large-scale testing among the community.

If this man is confirmed as a Covid-19 patient, Vietnam will end the string of having no cases of community transmission since April 16.

Around the globe, the pandemic has killed 641,800 people.