Three overseas returnees and one linked to HCMC hotspot Buddha bar reported as four new coronavirus infections in Vietnam Tuesday evening.
“Patient 247” is the case related to the Buddha Bar & Grill in Ho Chi Minh City, now the second biggest hotspot of Covid-19 in the country.
He is a 28-year-old man residing in Ward 1, Binh Thanh District, HCMC. He works at Gia Dinh Shoes Co. Ltd as manager of the company’s office at 20A Dong Khoi Street, Thanh Phu Commune, Vinh Phu District of Dong Nai Province, which neighbors HCMC. The company has another office in An Phu Dong Ward, District 2 of HCMC.
He works with two infected patients and had been in close contact with those two.
One of his colleagues, “Patient 124,” is a Brazilian man, 52, who lives in HCMC’s District 2. On March 14, he joined a party at the Buddha Bar in Thao Dien Ward of HCMC’s District 2 and was quarantined on March 22 before testing Covid-19 positive.
The other colleague, “Patient 151,” is a 45-year-old Brazilian woman residing in Thao Dien.
After “Patient 124” was confirmed, “Patient 247” was sent to a quarantine camp in Dong Nai on March 24. Two days later, the test arrived as negative for him.
At the quarantine camp, he had stayed in a same room with four others who had also been in close contact with Patients 124 and 151. On April 6, the test was run once again and the result was positive. He has been transferred to Dong Nai Lung Hospital for treatment.
The four people that had been quarantined in the same room with “Patient 247” will continue to stay in quarantine for another 14 days. For now, they have yet to show any Covid-19 symptoms.
“Patient 247” brought the number of cases related to the Buddha bar to 19, following the nation’s biggest hotspot, the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, with 44 cases.
The other three cases are all Vietnamese returning from abroad who have been sent to quarantine upon arrival.
“Patient 246” is a 33-year-old man in Yen Thanh District in the central province of Nghe An. He works as a chef in Moscow, Russia and returned to Vietnam on Aeroflot flight SU290, seat 49F, on March 25. He tested positive on Arpil 6 and is now undergoing treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District.
“Patient 248” is 20. He flew from the U.S. to Vietnam on Japan Airlines flight JL079 that transited in Japan. After landing in HCMC on March 23, he is sent to a quarantine camp at a university dormitory in Thu Duc District and stayed in the same room with two other people. On April 5, he tested positive. His two roommates are now put under quarantine for 14 days while he has been sent to HCMC’s field hospital in Cu Chi District.
“Patient 249” is a man, 55. He flew back from the U.S., transited in Hong Kong, and arrived in Vietnam on March 22. Later he had a headache and fever and was tested positive. He is now treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
Latest additions have brought the national tally to 249. Of the cases, 122 have been discharged, including 27 on Tuesday.
Of the cases in Vietnam, 156 are overseas returnees. The remaining 93 had got infected via close contact with the source of transmission, including 63 from the two hotspots of Buddha Bar and Bach Mai Hospital.
Reporting by Le Nga @ VNExpress