Vietnam’s biggest coronavirus hotspot calls for support as dozens of cases found daily
Hai Duong recorded more than 550 infections after three weeks of local transmission.
Authorities in Vietnam’s northern province of Hai Duong, the fresh Covid-19 outbreak, have asked the government to support them in the fight against the pandemic as dozens of new cases remain found there on a daily basis.
| As the coronavirus pandemic is surging, more support must be mobilized. Photo: Zing |
The local administration has asked the Ministry of Health to raise testing capacity at the site to quickly find infections, set up more testing facilities and supply more medical equipment. Bach Mai Hospital, the country’s biggest hospital, and the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases are also requested to send more forces to Hai Duong to assist the local health sector.
So far, the pandemic has spread to all 12 towns and districts in the province, including five outbreaks. The number of new Covid-19 patients in Hai Duong has hit 557 out of 737 new cases found since the resurgence of the virus in Vietnam in late January.
On February 17, the province confirmed 18 additional cases, 40 on February 16, and 38 on February 15.
Due to rising infections, Hai Duong has been placed under isolation since February 16.
Following the stay-at-home order, neighboring provinces have tightened control over the movement of people coming from Hai Duong.
Accordingly, Hai Phong city, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Thai Binh, and Quang Ninh provinces have tested all people from Hai Duong.
Notably, some neighboring localities were not allowed the supply or transit of goods from Hai Duong.
Hai Duong has become the Covid-19 outbreak after a worker at China-invested Poyun Electronics Co., Ltd tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in late January.
The Health Ministry said the UK variant has been detected on many cases in Hai Duong. This strain is said to be 70% more contagious than the original kind and will “sweep the world” as predicted by Prof Sharon Peacock, chief of the UK’s genetic surveillance program.
Secretary of the Hai Duong Party Committee Pham Xuan Thang said the situation there remains serious as the province is home to many industrial parks accommodating thousands of workers. Currently, around 14,000 people in the locality are under quarantine.
