Close contacts of Vietnamese COVID-19 patients in RoK quarantined

Ha Nam (VNA) - Authorities of northern Ha Nam province and Hai Phong city are tracing and quarantining close contacts of two men who tested positive for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 after arriving in the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Deputy Director of the Health Department of Ha Nam province Nguyen Trong Khai said on August 26 morning that after receiving confirmation from the Korean authorities regarding the COVID-19 case of a 24-year-old male named N.N.C in Kim Bang district, health workers have set up surveillance zone around his residence and identified 68 people who he came into contact with him.

According to Khai, the man went to the RoK on August 20 on a flight with a fellow Vietnamese from the northern city of Hai Phong, also confirmed SARS-CoV-2 positive by health authorities there.

Both of them are not listed in the Vietnamese health ministry's COVID-19 registry as of August 25 morning.

Before departing to the RoK, he worked in Hanoi and left for his hometown, also held a farewell party at his home and at a restaurant.

Fifty six close contacts (F1 cases) in Ha Nam were placed under quarantine and had their specimens taken to be tested for COVID-19.

The province’s health workers are coordinating with counterparts in other localities to locate identified F1 cases and place them under medical observation.

Meanwhile, the man on the same flight was confirmed by Hai Phong city’s authorities to be a student who was repatriated from the RoK in March. The man had visited central Da Nang city and Quang Nam province, the country's current COVID-19 epicentre, from July 24-27, but had been self-isolating at his home.

He returned to the RoK on August 20 to continue his studies but tested positive for coronavirus. He is currently in a stable condition.

Hai Phong authorities have identified 25 people he had close contact with and a further 197 people who came into contact with those people. So far, these 25 people have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2./.