Vietnam confirms five new Covid-19 cases, total up to 153

Two people quarantined upon entering Vietnam March 21-23 are among the latest cases. The other three cases are people who contracted the virus from other Covid-19 patients.

"Patient 149" is a 40-year-old Vietnamese man in Hanoi's Long Bien District who works in Hessen state, Germany. On March 23, he landed in Quang Ninh's Van Don Airport on Vietnam Airlines flight VN36 along with his 68-year-old mother. He was asymptomatic on arrival. He was quarantined with two others on the same flight at the Quang Ninh Military School quarantine zone. He tested positive on March 25. 207 other passengers on his flight have tested negative. The man, his mother and two quarantine roommates have been transferred to the Ha Long City Hospital 2 for monitoring and treatment.

"Patient 150" is a 55-year-old Vietnamese man living in Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Saigon. He and his wife landed March 13 in HCMC on Eva Air flight BR395 from the U.S., transiting in Taiwan.

The Health Ministry communiqué on the latest infections says the man returned home from Tan Son Nhat airport, and from March 14-18, he went to several places and made contact with several people. He also had a house party with four people on March 14, went to a noodles soup stall on Han Thuyen Street on March 15, had a meeting at the Transimex company with 24 people and another party in a restaurant on March 16. On March 18 he met friends in Nha Be District and went for a health check at the Family Medical clinic on Le Duan Street where he was advised to go to the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases. On March 23, he developed a sore throat, cough and fever. After tests showed he was Covid-19 positive, he has been quarantined and treated at the Can Gio Hospital. The communiqué had no information about his wife or her health status.

"Patient 151" is a 45-year-old Brazilian woman residing in Thao Dien Ward, District 2, Saigon. She works at the Gia Dinh shoe company, which has two branches  - one in Dong Nai Province's Vinh Cuu District and the other in District 2's An Phu Dong Ward. She is a co-worker and had close contact with "Patient 124," a 52-year-old Brazilian man who got infected after going to the Buddha Bar in the district with another infected man.

"Patient 151" and "Patient 124" often went to work in a car with a personal driver, sharing trips to the two company branches and to a Starbucks shop in District 2. "Patient 151" also went to several places, including a food stall in Dong Nai's Bien Hoa City on March 13, the An Phu supermarket on March 16, and the Hue Phong factory in Go Vap District on March 19. She was tested and quarantined in a military school in Cu Chi District on March 23. The driver is also quarantined there.

"Patient 152" is a 27-year-old Vietnamese woman residing in Tay Thanh Ward, Tan Phu District, Saigon. She is the sister of "Patient 127," an employee of the Buddha Bar, living with him in the same house. She works at the Formica company on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 3. She had close contact with four co-workers from March 10 to March 14, and with a partner at the company on March 19. From March 15 to March 18, she went to several places and made contact with several people: on March 15 she went to her parents' house in Tan Binh District; on March 17 she went out for lunch with two of her friends in a restaurant in District 1; and on March 18 she came into contact with a delivery person.

On March 20, when she heard of people getting Covid-19 infections at the Buddha Bar, she took time off work and quarantined herself at home. She was monitored by a local medical clinioc. Her swab samples were taken on March 23 and she was quarantined in Can Gio. Her company has been closed temporarily.

"Patient 153" is a 60-year-old Vietnamese woman from Da Nang City's Hai Chau District. She visited a relative in Australia and returned to Vietnam March 21, landing in HCMC on Vietnam Airlines flight VN772. She was transferred to a quarantine zone in the dorm of the HCMC National University on arrival in the same room as "Patient 143" and two others.

On March 23, when "Patient 143" was confirmed infected, she and two other people in the room were transferred to the Cu Chi Field Hospital to be quarantined and monitored.

Thursday’s additions have raised to 10 the number of Covid-19 patients linked to HCMC's Buddha Bar.

Vietnam has confirmed 153 Covid-19 cases so far, 17 of whom have been discharged from hospitals. Most of the active cases are people returning from Europe and the U.S. and people who came into close contact with them.

The Covid-19 pandemic has spread to 198 countries and territories, claiming over 22,000 lives.