Foreign sailors anchored at Vung Tau test positive for coronavirus

The sailors are still on the vessel and have not carried out procedures to enter Vietnam. (Photo: PLO)

Ba Ria-Vung Tau (VNA) - Two crew members aboard a Singaporean vessel anchored offshore of southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, while two others are suspected of carrying the virus.

The ship Ocean Amazing travelled from Indonesia and was scheduled to deliver cargo in Vietnam, but on February 20, when it was about to enter Vietnamese waters, one of its 21 sailors committed suicide.

The provincial Centre of Disease Control tested the remaining 20 sailors for the novel coronavirus on the same day, detecting five positive cases and one suspected case.

However, a second test conducted by the centre on February 23 found only two infections and one suspected case.

Gene sequencing is being performed on the samples by the Ho Chi Minh City-based Pasteur Institute.

The sailors are still on the vessel and have not carried out procedures to enter Vietnam.

The ship’s owner expects it to return to Indonesia to replace the crew and disinfect before it returns to Vietnam with the cargo.

According to the provincial Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, no community transmissions have been reported in Ba Ria-Vung Tau./.

VNA