South Africa coronavirus variant detected in Vietnam

Vietnam said it found the South African variant of coronavirus that may spread faster and could reduce the efficacy of vaccines.

Tightening control over Covid-19 in Quang Ninh outbreak. Photo: Zing

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) on January 30 said that Vietnam’s scientists detected the Covid strain in a 25-year-old South African expert who entered Vietnam on December 19, 2020, the Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

The man, who departed South Africa and took transit in Doha, Qatar, was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on December 23, 2020. He is under treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the South Africa virus variant has spread to more than 30 countries.

Early trial data shows Novavax and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have much less efficacy against the new variant, according to The Quardian.

In another move, Vietnam has recorded the resurgence of local infections since January 28. Local health experts believe that many new cases are linked to SARS-CoV-2 variant firstly detected in the UK that is 70% more contagious and found in more than 80 nations.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said Vietnam has prepared medical equipment for the case of having 10,000 local infections.

Dr. Truong Huu Khanh at Nhi Dong 1 Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City believed that Vietnam would contain the virus in 10 days, before Tet holiday or the Lunar New Year thanks to its sample collecting and testing capacity.

After the first locally-transmitted cases found in the northern province of Hai Duong and Quang Ninh, Vietnam closed Van Don Airport in Quang Ninh and put on lockdown Hai Duong’s Chi Linh City, the locality of roughly 200,000 people.

On January 31, Vietnam reported 31 additional local infections, mostly in the north and one in the south province of Binh Duong that is home to many industrial parks.