COVID-19: Vietnam confirms 12 new cases, total hits 976

Da Nang city, the epicenter of the country’s largest coronavirus outbreak, registered six cases, aged 33-59. They included three patient caregivers, a medical worker at Da Nang hospital, and a security guard at the same hospital.

Hai Duong province, a gateway to Hanoi capital, reported four cases aged 13-41, all closely linked to a newly detected outbreak at a restaurant on Ngo Quyen Street. Five other patients had previously been infected with the virus at the restaurant.

A 29-year-old woman in Hanoi capital who had close contact with a COVID-19 patient tested positive for the virus on August 16. Local authorities scrambled to lock down the lane where she is living in Hai Ba Trung District’s Truong Dinh Ward.

Meanwhile, a 42-year-old Vietnamese citizen returning from Equatorial Guinea on July 29 also tested positive for the virus. He was among more than 200 Vietnamese guestworkers who had been evacuated from Equatorial Guinea due to a high risk of COVID-19 infection.

So far more than 20 of the returnees have been confirmed to carry the virus.

As of 18.00hrs August 17 Vietnam has registered a total of 976 cases, including 24 deaths. Worthy of note is that all the fatalities have been recorded since the virus recurred in Vietnam in late July.

After the first case of community infection was reported in Da Nang, a famous tourist destination in central Vietnam, on July 25, the virus has spread to 15 cities and provinces across the country, with a total of 499 people infected.

Da Nang was the hardest hit locality with 350 cases, followed by Quang Nam (91), Ho Chi Minh City (11), Hanoi, (10), Quang tri (7), Bac Giang (6), Quang Ngai, Hai Duong (9), Lang Son (5), Dak Lak (3), Dong Nai (2), Thai Binh, Ha Nam and Khanh Hoa (1 each).

Currently, more than 107,000 people who had contact with COVID-19 patients and returned from epidemic hit countries, have been placed in quarantine for medical surveillance.