Five more test Covid-19 positive in Saigon

Five people in Saigon, including two British men, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, raising the total in the country to 99, the Health Ministry confirmed Sunday.

“Patient 95” is a 20 year-old Vietnamese living in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. He is a student coming back from France on Air France flight AF258, seat 34J, on March 18. He is under treatment at the city’s Cu Chi Field Hospital.

“Patient 96” is a 21-year-old Vietnamese woman living in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City. Two weeks before coming back to Vietnam, she has traveled to Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic and France. She landed in Tan Son Nhat Airport on March 19 on Emirates flight EK392 from Dubai, seat 30E. She’s being treated at the HCMC Hospital of Tropical Diseases.

“Patient 97” and “Patient 98” are 34-year-old British men, roommates in District 4, Ho Chi Minh City, working as English teachers. They both went to Bar Buddha in District 2 on March 14 with “Patient 91,” a British pilot of Vietnam Airlines and sought medical checks after the pilot was confirmed infected on Friday.

“Patient 99” is a 29-year-old Vietnamese man in Binh Thanh District, HCMC. He flew back from Paris on Air France flight AF258, seat 33H, on March 18, the same flight as “Patient 95.” He showed no symptoms upon entry and was transfered to a quarantine zone in District 12. His sample was tested positive for Covid-19 on March 21 by HCMC’s Pasteur Institute.

The five cases confirmed on Sunday raised Vietnam’s Covid-19 patient tally to 99, including 17 people who have recovered and discharged. HCMC alone is treating 23 patients.

Covid-19 pandemic has spread to 188 countries and territores and caused the death of more than 13,000 people, with Italy (4,825 deaths) having surpassed China (3,261) as the most deadly Covid-19 epicenter.

By Hoang Nguyen – VnExpress.net – March 22, 2020