A hospital in southern Vietnam has been isolated since Tuesday after three people there were found positive for the novel coronavirus.

Long An General Hospital in the namesake southern province was forced to close after three individuals, including one patient, one caretaker, and one cleaner, tested positive for the pathogen on Tuesday.

The hospital will be cordoned off for 72 hours, starting 9:00 pm on Tuesday, for a thorough screening of all practitioners, staffers, patients, and caretakers inside, the Long An Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Human Infectious Diseases stated in a decision issued the same day.

The cleaner, who lives in Cho Gao District of nearby Tien Giang Province, was the first of the three to be diagnosed with COVID-19 thanks to a round of screening tests for hospital employees. 

She was subcontracted to work at the hospital via a local housekeeping agency, and had worked in many wards before the detection.

In light of the cleaner's positive test result, the Long An General Hospital expanded their vetting process and found the two others also positive for COVID-19. 

Long An Province has recorded 80 domestic cases since the fourth wave emerged in Vietnam on April 27. 

Local authorities have sent over 1,000 individuals at high risk of infection to quarantine, plus 5,647 others who were told to practice self-isolation at home. 

A total of 13,262 local infections have been recorded across 50 of the nation’s 63 provinces and cities, including 3,716 in Ho Chi Minh City, in this round.

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