A Vietnamese man and his son have been discovered having antibodies against the novel coronavirus although they have yet to be vaccinated against the virus, health authorities confirmed on Saturday.

The finding was reported when the coronavirus tests were performed on them at a preventive health center in Hai Phong, according to the local health authority.

They are the husband and child of a local teacher who had contracted the virus from an unknown source, the municipal Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control reported.

As the father and his son have not been inoculated against the virus, the detection of coronavirus antibodies in their samples suggested that they had probably once caught the virus and recovered from it, medical experts said. 

The steering committee has requested local authorities to quickly identify all close contacts of the teacher’s husband and son from May 1 until now and place them under quarantine in accordance with current regulations.

Hai Phong authorities have agreed to a proposal by health agencies that antibody testing should be applied to those who are at high risk of infection even if they test negative for the virus.

In a strong move to contain the pandemic spread, the municipal People’s Committee have since May 18 requested locals not leave their homes between 10:00 pm and 5:00 am unless necessary.

The local government has also limited public gatherings to 10 people outside offices, schools and hospitals, and demanded that people keep a minimum distance of two meters in social interaction.

People with symptoms of cough, fever, difficulty breathing, or other respiratory problems must contact health centers for examination and coronavirus testing, while eateries are required to stop serving customers on site and to only offer takeout.

The country has documented 2,089 local infections in 30 provinces and cities since April 27, the beginning of the fourth wave of COVID-19.

Bac Giang Province is taking the lead with 862 patients, followed by Bac Ninh with 426, Hanoi with 283, and Da Nang with 151.

Hai Phong, located in northern Vietnam, accounts for two of the local cases.

The Southeast Asian country confirmed 106 community cases in the first wave from January 23 to April 16, 2020, 554 in the second from July 25 to December 1, 2020, and 910 in the third from January 28 to March 25, 2021.  

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