COVID-19: Six additional community cases confirmed in Hai Duong
VOV.VN - The Ministry of Health reported the detection of six further community cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on February 20, all of which have been found in Hai Duong province, raising the national count of local infections to 1,469.
All the new patients had close contact with previously confirmed coronavirus cases and had already been quarantined. They are now receiving treatment at local field hospitals, according to the Health Ministry.
The national count currently stands at 2,368, including 1,627 recoveries and 35 deaths. In addition, 22 recoveries were announced on February 19.
Among the patients still undergoing treatment, 69 have since tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus once, 39 have tested negative twice, whilst 55 have tested negative three times.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long has called on localities to outline plans in an effort to cope with the potential spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minister also stated that Hai Duong province should press ahead with its stronger prevention and control measures, while other localities must remain vigilant as the ongoing third COVID-19 outbreak is proving more complex due to the emergence of a new variant from the UK.
Elsewhere, the northern province of Quang Ninh has gone 11 straight days without detecting any new community cases, and four consecutive days without any new cases.
As of February 19, only 20 COVID-19 cases out of the 43 infections in Quang Ninh tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Between February 14 and February 18, a total of 15 individuals were declared free from the virus in the locality.
Since the first cases were detected in the community on January 27, Quang Ninh, is only behind Hai Duong in terms of local transmissions. Indeed, the province has recorded 60 positive COVID-19 cases, with more than 136,000 locals being testing from January 27 to February 19.
Over the past nine days, Ho Chi Minh City has also confirmed no fresh community cases, with the pandemic situation in the southern metropolis basically under good control. Since the outbreak began late last month, the southern city has detected a total of 36 local transmissions, including 25 linked to Tan Son Nhat Airport and one relating to Hai Duong province.
The Centre for Disease Control in Ho Chi Minh City has also randomly tested 5,685 people at airports and train stations, with 4,843 results coming back negative.