Nghe An quarantines passenger buses, takes samples for testing of suspected Covid-19 patients returning from epidemic areas

On the morning of March 12, Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Director of Nghe An Department of Health said that the authorities had just completed collecting samples and sent them to the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to test for Covid-19 in one more case.

This is a person with many symptoms of Covid-19 and has just returned from Japan.

This person named HV H (37 years old, Hung Tan commune, Hung Nguyen), has been working in Japan for the past year, right in the area where the epidemic has been announced. At the place where he was in Japan, within a radius of only 1km, there were 5 people infected.

Mr. H. lived with three other people, and all three had coughs, sore throats, difficulty breathing, and chest tightness. After going to a medical facility in Japan for examination, these people were advised to return home.

Mr. H. arrived at Noi Bai airport at 2:30 p.m. on March 11, then took a bus to the center of Hanoi to buy a SIM card, eat pho, and take a taxi to Nuoc Ngam bus station to board a bus to Nghe An. There were 15 passengers, 1 driver, and 1 assistant on the bus. Among them, Mr. H. wore a mask and slept in the last bed.

Associate Professor, Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Director of the Department of Health and functional forces stayed up all night to bring all people on the bus to a centralized quarantine area, at the same time taking samples for testing and medical investigation. Photo: Tien Hung

Upon receiving the news, at 0:00 on March 12, Nghe An authorities, including medical staff, police, and military, set up a checkpoint at the beginning of Vinh City to inspect the bus. However, at this time, there were only 8 people left on the bus, 7 other passengers had gotten off the bus along the way. The driver refused to cooperate. At around 3:00 a.m., the authorities were able to complete taking medical statements and samples for testing. Currently, these 8 people are being quarantined.

Through medical investigation, this person has had fever, cough, chest pain, muscle fatigue since March 6. Currently, he still has cough, mild difficulty breathing, and muscle aches.

Covid-19 test results for this patient are expected later today.