11 Covid-19 outbreaks are losing track of F0 in Vinh City

As of the morning of October 27, Vinh City has recorded a total of 84 Covid-19 patients, since the third outbreak began on October 15. According to Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Director of Nghe An Department of Health, this outbreak is much more dangerous than previous outbreaks. Currently, the outbreak has appeared in 10 wards and communes.

“After analyzing the tracing results, we determined that there are at least 11 clusters of unrelated cases. This is one of the biggest difficulties in the fight against the epidemic,” said the head of the Nghe An health sector.

Among the outbreaks this time, the outbreak on Bui Huy Bich Street has recorded the most cases so far (nearly 50 cases). This street stretches from Ha Huy Tap Ward through Hung Loc Commune. According to Mr. Duong Dinh Chinh, this is the most dangerous outbreak, with a very fast spreading rate. "We have sent samples to Hanoi to sequence the genes to see if it belongs to the Delta variant or a new variant. Because the spreading rate is too fast, not like the previous outbreak," said the leader of the Department of Health.

This outbreak began on October 15, when a couple living on Bui Huy Bich Street (in Yen Hoa Block, Ha Huy Tap Ward) visited Nghe An Provincial General Hospital for a check-up and tested positive for Covid-19. Since then, cases related to this street have been discovered almost every day.

Bui Huy Bich Street has been blocked for many days now. Photo: Tien Hung

Also on October 15, Vinh City recorded another community case. This man has an address in Thanh Chuong town, but is staying at his son's house in Quan Bau ward. He was found to be infected with Covid-19 when he went to Cua Dong General Hospital for examination. The investigation and tracing results did not find the source of the infection. To date, all hundreds of test samples related to this patient, including family members who have frequent close contact, have been negative.

On October 18, another outbreak appeared in Block 3, Ben Thuy Ward. The patient was a 21-year-old male, working as a shipper, with a very complicated schedule. On October 16, the patient had symptoms of fever, sore throat, fatigue, and bought medicine at home but it did not help. On the morning of October 18, the patient went to Trung Do Ward Health Station for examination and was tested rapidly with a positive result. Immediately after that, the patient was isolated at the Health Station and had a sample sent to the CDC for testing. On the afternoon of October 18, the result was confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus. The patient was injected with 1 dose of Covid-19 vaccine. To date, this outbreak has not recorded any additional cases.

Also on October 18, a fourth outbreak related to Nghe An Oncology Hospital occurred. To date, this outbreak has detected 3 F0 cases, the first case being a staff member of the Laboratory Department discovered through routine screening at the Oncology Hospital. After that, 1 more F1 case was discovered in the same Laboratory Department and 1 case was a patient being treated at Facility 2 of the Oncology Hospital.

An alley in Ha Huy Tap ward was blocked off on the morning of October 27. Photo: Tien Hung

On October 19, the 5th outbreak appeared at a garment factory in Vinh Tan ward. This is the second largest outbreak, after the outbreak on Bui Huy Bich street. To date, 17 F0 cases have been detected. The first case is a garment factory worker located in Chau Nhan commune, Hung Nguyen district. This person was found to be infected with Covid-19 when he came for screening at the Provincial General Hospital. Of the 17 cases related to this outbreak, there are 10 cases at the Viet Duc Knitting Collective Area - Trung Do ward, 1 case at Phuong Hoang block - Trung Do ward, 2 cases in Ben Thuy ward, 2 cases in Vinh Tan ward, 1 case in Quan Bau).

On October 20, the 6th outbreak was recorded on Van Duc Giai Street, Hung Binh Ward. The 3 patients were a mother and her children, of which the 40-year-old mother, who works in the clean food business, was found to be infected with Covid-19 when she showed symptoms of fatigue and went to Vinh City General Hospital for examination. Samples were taken for testing of F1s and then 2 more children were found to be infected. To date, no additional cases related to this outbreak have been recorded.

The 7th outbreak was recorded on Nguyen Truong Khoat Street (near Bui Huy Bich Street, located in Ha Huy Tap Ward and Hung Loc Commune).)Up to now, this outbreak has detected 3 cases, the first case due to fever came to Ha Huy Tap Ward Health Station for rapid test positive, then discovered 1 more case is the patient's child and 1 case is the patient's neighbor.

The 8th outbreak was recorded at Muong Thanh Cua Dong Apartment. So far, only 1 case of this outbreak has been detected in a driver, after a routine screening at the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital.

On October 24, the ninth outbreak was detected in Trung Do Ward. The patient was a long-distance driver traveling to Ho Chi Minh City. To date, no secondary cases related to this outbreak have been recorded.

The 10th and 11th outbreaks are both newly discovered outbreaks through community screening. To date, no secondary patients have been recorded. Of these, 1 case is at No. 18 of the Rada 45 Hung Loc housing complex and 1 case is near the Trung Do ward blockade area.

In addition, on the morning of October 27, the Nghe An Department of Health announced 10 more cases in Vinh City, including 4 cases in the community. Currently, the authorities are still thoroughly investigating and tracing the contact history to find the source of infection of these cases.