Briton becomes 31st coronavirus patient in Vietnam
Monday, March 09, 2020, 18:51 GMT+7
A visitor from the UK was confirmed as the 31st coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient in Vietnam on Monday.
The patient, 49, had traveled from London to Hanoi on board the same flight VN0054 as Vietnamese ‘patient No. 17,’ the Ministry of Health announced.
The flight, operated by national carrier Vietnam Airlines, landed at Noi Bai International Airport in the Vietnamese capital on March 2.
Patient No. 17, N.H.N., was confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on March 6.
The British patient moved to the central province of Quang Nam after touching down in the small hours of March 2.
He is now isolated in Quang Nam.
At least 12 other COVID-19 cases confirmed over the past few days in Vietnam have been traced to N., a 26-year-old woman from Hanoi, including her chauffeur and aunt, who drove her to a private hospital for testing.
The London-Hanoi flight carried 201 passengers, of whom 48 are Vietnamese. They have traveled to different provinces and cities in Vietnam upon their arrival in Hanoi.
Vietnamese authorities are tracing the passengers on board the flight.
The flight crew and those in contact with the patients have been isolated.
Vietnam has so far confirmed 31 infections, including 18 Vietnamese, two Chinese nationals, one Vietnamese American, eight British citizens, one Mexican, and one Irish national.
Sixteen of the patients had recovered and been discharged from the hospital by February 26.
Patient No. 17 was confirmed after Vietnam had reported no new infection since February 13.
She had traveled to London, Milan, and Paris before returning to Hanoi.
Her older sister, who lives in the UK and attended fashion events in Milan and Paris with N., tested positive for the virus before she did.
Vietnamese celebrities who may have had contact with the two at the events have been asked to come to local health facilities for health checks.
Over 100 people in Vietnam have been placed in quarantine for interacting with N. or with those who had close contact with her.
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