Vietnamese hotel staff infected with India variant B.1.617
VOV.VN - The Ministry of Health confirmed that a hotel receptionist in northern Yen Bai province has been infected with variant B.1.617 originating from India.
The information was unveiled on April 30 after scientists have completed genome sequencing for the hotel staff’s specimen.
The man had close contact with a group of Indian experts who flew from their home country and were placed in quarantine at a hotel in Yen Bai province on April 18.
Four of the Indian experts and the receptionist were later confirmed as SARS-CoV-2 patients.
Vietnamese scientists conducted genome sequencing of the four experts and found that they had carried B.1.617 – a variant that is spreading across India and causing a catastrophic disaster now in the South Asian nation..
Variant B.1.617, also known as the double mutant, is more transmissible than other variants, but is still responsive to vaccines, according to preliminary studies.
Amid new coronavirus threats, especially from neighbouring countries, the Minister of Health has instructed leading institutes to conduct genetic sequencing of COVID-19 patients entering Vietnam to evaluate and adopt appropriate measures.
Besides the five cases in Yen Bai, scientists are also sequencing other COVID-19 cases in Ha Nam that have just been recorded over the past two days.
