Three clusters of F0 outbreaks lost track in Nghe An

As of noon on June 19, Nghe An has recorded a total of 24 Covid-19 patients in this outbreak. What is worrying is that although the number of cases is not large, there are many different sources of infection, and many cases have even lost track of F0.

Of the total 24 cases, 21 cases are related to 3 outbreak clusters that have lost contact with F0.

Specifically, the first Covid-19 patient in Vinh City was a 22-year-old female hairdresser who rented a room in Ha Huy Tap Ward. She was recorded as a Covid-19 patient on June 14, infected by a boyfriend in Ha Tinh. However, she falsely declared the source of the infection to herself. Surprisingly, to date, no F1 of this patient has been infected with Covid-19 despite the patient's busy schedule and contact with many people.

Rapid, large-scale testing is necessary in the current context. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

The second Covid-19 patient in Vinh City is a 32-year-old male bank employee residing in Hung Dung Ward (patient 11440). This patient was recorded on June 15. However, according to the patient's statement, he had symptoms of the disease for more than a week. In his declaration to the authorities as well as sharing on his personal Facebook, this man firmly affirmed that he did not know or meet the female patient recorded a day earlier in Ha Huy Tap Ward. And recently, he has not left Vinh City. Up to now, the authorities have not found the source of infection of this case. Meanwhile, up to now, "patient 11440" is believed to have been infected for 2 cycles. That is, this person's F2 has also been infected with Covid-19.

Accordingly, on June 16, 2 F1s of the male bank employee were confirmed to be infected with Covid-19. One of them was a colleague, residing in Ha Huy Tap ward, Vinh city (later numbered as patient 11633), the other was the patient's brother, working at Dien Lien commune police (patient 11634).

On June 17, two F1 cases of patient 11634, who are working at Dien Thinh Commune Police (Dien Chau District), tested positive for Covid-19. Thus, if the initial assumption was that the male bank employee infected his brother, then the two cases at Dien Thinh Commune Police are his F2 cases. That is, this cluster of infections has been transmitted through at least 2 cycles.

In Vinh City, also related to this outbreak, on the morning of June 18, a 51-year-old woman, residing in Vinh Lac block, Dong Vinh ward, was confirmed to be infected with Covid-19. This person is F1 of patient 11633. At the same time, a 36-year-old woman (residing on Herman street, Hung Phuc ward) also tested positive for Covid-19. This person is F1 of patient 11634. Thus, these two women are both F2 of the male bank employee. That is, the infection cycle has also reached the second round. In total, this outbreak has recorded 7 patients.

Along with rapid testing of all residents, Vinh City will also be widely disinfected. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Another very complicated outbreak and also lost track of F0 related to a group of workers from the same hometown of Minh Chau commune, Dien Chau district. The first person in the group of workers confirmed to have Covid-19 was L.Đ.Đ (31 years old, Van Tap hamlet, Minh Chau commune).

This person lives with a group of colleagues who work on plaster ceilings in Lane 5, Nguyen Gia Thieu Street, Hung Dung Ward, but has recently been working and frequently appears at the company headquarters on Ha Huy Tap Street (near the case of the female hairdresser). On the afternoon of June 12, he returned to his hometown in Dien Chau. Two days later, he started having fever symptoms. On June 17, the test result was positive for Covid-19 after being examined at Dien Chau District General Hospital.

On the same day, medical staff took samples from 3 workers who shared a rented room in Vinh City and lived in the same Van Tap village as the patient and found that all three were positive for Covid-19. Currently, the authorities have not yet determined who in this group of 4 workers infected whom. By noon on June 18, 2 F1s of Mr. L.D.D (the first worker who tested positive) were also infected with Covid-19. These two people both live in Hung Dung Ward, Vinh City. One of the two people, due to the nature of his work, had a very complicated contact schedule in the past few days. By the morning of June 19, another F1 living in Minh Chau Commune was infected with Covid-19. Thus, up to now, this outbreak has recorded 7 cases, and the F0 has also been lost. And coincidentally, like the first outbreak, this outbreak is also related to two localities, Dien Chau and Vinh City.

To date, Nghe An province has recorded 24 cases in 4 localities including Vinh City, Dien Chau, Quy Hop and Tan Ky. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition, another outbreak is also very complicated and the source of infection is also unknown, related to Nghe An Mental Hospital, which must be quarantined. The first case of this outbreak is a nurse working at the Male Mental Health Department - Nghe An Mental Hospital. On the afternoon of June 17, this person had a fever, so the hospital gave her a rapid test. After 2 rapid tests were positive, her sample was sent to Nghe An CDC and the results later showed that the patient was infected with Covid-19.

On June 18, 3 people in the F1 category of the female nurse living on Doc Thiet Street (Hung Binh Ward) tested positive for Covid-19 after being quarantined and having their samples taken. These three people are members of the female nurse's in-laws. By the morning of June 19, the nurse's father-in-law, mother-in-law and children, who live together in a house on Pham Dinh Toai Street (Ha Huy Tap Ward), also tested positive for Covid-19. Thus, up to now, this outbreak has recorded 7 patients. Although the authorities have made great efforts to trace, they have not yet determined the source of this outbreak.

"Not being able to identify the initial source of infection is very dangerous, making it difficult to fight the epidemic. Therefore, to win this battle, tracing, zoning, and sampling must be done more quickly. At the same time, rapid testing on a large scale is also needed," said a leader of Nghe An Department of Health.

Director of the Department of Health directs epidemic prevention in Dien Chau. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In addition, during this outbreak, Nghe An recorded two other individual cases. One case in Ky Tan commune (Tan Ky district), a worker returning from Bac Giang. This case was determined to be re-positive.

In Quy Hop district, the patient is a 48-year-old man living in Lien Xuan hamlet, Nghia Xuan commune. This patient traveled from Bac Giang to Nghe An 3 days ago and made a medical declaration on the evening of June 17 after his roommate informed him of a positive rapid test result for SARS-CoV-2 virus over the phone.

Faced with the complicated outbreak situation and the loss of F0 contacts, Vinh City had to conduct rapid Covid-19 testing for more than half a million people to find patients in the community. It is expected that rapid testing will begin from June 19. In addition, in the next 3 days, the military will also spray disinfectant on a large scale throughout the streets, headquarters, and crowded places in Vinh City.