- Five out of seven patients had close contact with previously confirmed coronavirus cases
- The national tally has gone up to 2,420 to date, with 35 deaths
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Seven new Covid-19 community transmissions were recorded Thursday evening in Hai Duong, Vietnam’s current coronavirus epicenter, raising the tally of the country’s latest outbreak to 820.
Out of the seven, tagged from 2413 to 2424, five had close contact with previously confirmed coronavirus cases and had already been quarantined, the Health Ministry said.
One patient was found infected with the virus through screening test and the remaining one was diagnosed with the disease after showing suspected symptoms.
They are being treated at the northern province’s field hospitals.
The health ministry also confirmed one imported case, being a 25-year-old female resident of Can Tho City. She entered the country via Moc Bai international border gate in southern Tay Ninh Province and was quarantined upon arrival.
The entire Hai Duong Province, around 60 kilometers from Hanoi, is undergoing a 15-day social distancing starting February 16 to stem the spread of the virus, with authorities requesting residents to stay home and only go out to buy necessities like food and medicine or for emergency.
The country has been struggling with a new outbreak wave since Jan. 28 after 55 clean days in a row, with 820 community transmissions recorded in 13 localities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. With 636 cases, Hai Duong is now the biggest Covid-19 hotspot, followed by Quang Ninh (61) and HCMC (36).
The national tally has gone up to 2,420 to date, with 35 deaths.
Ten containers with 117,600 Covid-19 vaccine doses produced by the AstraZeneca company arrived at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport Wednesday morning.
They would be prioritized for those on the frontline of the pandemic fight, including medical workers, doctors, nurses, contact tracers and officials of Covid-19 prevention and control committees.
Vietnam is currently aiming at mass Covid-19 vaccination for its 98-million population.
This article was originally published in Vnexpress