COVID-19: Another community case detected in Vietnam on Feb. 10 morning

The patient is a 22-year-old man living in Bac Giang province, a gateway to Hanoi capital. He tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus after having close contact with his wife, a COVID-19 patient linked to the coronavirus hotspot in Chi Linh City, Hai Duong province.

The virus has spread to 13 cities and provinces across the country since it recurred late last month. As many as 484 cases have been confirmed, including 327 cases in Hai Duong province alone, the country’s biggest coronavirus hotspot.

The Ministry of Health announced 13 locally-transmitted cases on February 9 afternoon, including two in Hung Yen province, another gateway to Hanoi capital. Hung Yen is the latest locality where the virus has been detected.

In a message to health workers on February 9, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on the health sector to pool all resources to fight the disease and ensure no cross infection of the virus occurs in health facilities.

The government decided to give daily allowance worth VND160,000 per person to those who are on duty at concentrated quarantine facilities and health facilities during the five-day lunar New Year holiday.

In other developments:

• Hung Yen province imposed social distancing on a number of selected places where cases were detected.
• HCM City locked down another block of flats in Tan Binh district where an Vietnam Airlines employee was infected with the virus.
• Bus stations in Hanoi was required to store passenger information for at least 21 days
• Hanoi decided to test approximately 10,000 employees of Noi Bai International Airport following a virus outbreak at Tan Son Nhat airport in the south.
• A number of localities such as Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, and Can Tho suspended non-essential services.