Vietnam reports first case of new COVID-19 variant

This comes after six COVID-19 cases were detected on flight VN50 from the UK to Vietnam. The individuals were immediately placed into quarantine and tested for COVID-19 once their flight had landed at Can Tho International Airport.

The Pasteur Institute’s results indicate that one of the six COVID-19 cases had contracted the new strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus with the D614G substitution.

The patient was subsequently transferred to the Tra Vinh Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh in order to undergo further medical observation and treatment.

Furthermore, the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control has announced that a total of 133 individuals who had come into close contact with two illegal entrants infected with COVID-19 have since tested negative for the virus.

HCDC believe that the rising number of illegal entrants will continue to pose a major threat to the country's stringent anti-COVID-19 measures. Facing increasingly complicated developments relating to COVID-19 due to several new local transmissions being detected, the southern city has moved to tighten epidemic prevention and control measures.

Moreover, the southern metropolis has also called on all people with respiratory symptoms to get a COVID-19 test in an effort to contain any possible outbreaks with the Lunar New Year approaching.

During a recent online conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also urged people nationwide to report any cases of people illegally crossing borders to enter the nation.  The government leader outlined how everyone should remain vigilant about such entries as they could potentially be a major source of infection.