Health authorities in the north-central province of Quang Binh on Tuesday said they have tested and sent 36 people to quarantine after they had contact with patient 1,291, following his second positive COVID-19 retest.

Patient 1,291, hailing from Trung Hoa Commune in Quang Binh’s Minh Hoa District, returned from Romania on a flight that landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on November 8.

The patient was tested for COVID-19 and quarantined upon his arrival as per regulations.

After his test results returned positive for the novel coronavirus, he was moved to the field hospital for COVID-19 treatment in Ho Chi Minh City’s Cu Chi District.

The patient was discharged from the hospital on December 3 after testing negative for the virus multiple times during his treatment.

However, a test carried out by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of Quang Binh after patient 1,291 returned to the province showed that he became positive again.

According to the patient’s medical record, this was already the second time that he had retested positive.

At a press conference to address this case on Tuesday afternoon, leaders of the Quang Binh Department of Health said that it convened an urgent meeting with local authorities and relevant agencies in Minh Hoa District to discuss measures for disease prevention and control following the patient’s positive retests.

The Quang Binh CDC sampled and put 36 people in close contact with the patient in centralized quarantine at a military facility in Dong Hoi City.

Meanwhile, the patient is currently treated at the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Dong Hoi Hospital.

“Currently, there has been no record of transmission cases caused by recovered patients retesting positive for the novel coronavirus in the world," Nguyen Duc Cuong, director of the provincial health department, said at Tuesday afternoon’s press briefing.

"Therefore, people should not be too worried and confused."

In order to beef up COVID-19 prevention and control, local authorities in Quang Binh are reviewing and enforcing health declarations while monitoring people traveling to and from Ho Chi Minh City from November 18, when a small disease outbreak was recorded in the southern metropolis.

People that went to or returned from Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District, Binh Tan District, District 6, and District 10 are requested to self-quarantine at home or other residential places for 14 days.

They shall be tested for COVID-19 if they have symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath.

Local authorities have continued following the government’s directions and the Ministry of Health’s instructions on COVID-19 prevention and control.

Officials also strengthened management, monitoring, strict supervision, and testing for all arrivals according to regulations in order to avoid local transmission. 

Cases of untruthful medical declarations and quarantine violations will be strictly handled.

Vietnam has recorded 1,377 coronavirus patients as of Wednesday morning, with 1,224 recoveries and 35 virus-related deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

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