Lockdown of Nghe An highland village with 3 people infected with Covid-19 of unknown origin

On the morning of July 14, the leader of Luong Minh commune (Tuong Duong) said that the authorities had set up a blockade of the entire Cham Puong village to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic. This is the most difficult village of Luong Minh commune, nearly 20km from the commune center.

Cham Puong village has 192 households, all of whom are Khmu people.

"180 households in the village are poor and near-poor. Due to difficult life, many young people in the village often work illegally in China and as gold miners in Quang Nam," said a leader of Luong Minh commune.

Currently, medical staff are present in this village to trace and take samples for testing from each household in the village.

Checkpoint at the entrance of Cham Puong village. Photo: TH

In addition to the Cham Puong village that has been locked down, the remaining villages in Luong Minh commune have set up checkpoints at the entrances to control people entering and leaving the village. People passing through must stop to have their temperature taken and make a health declaration. If there are epidemiological factors, they will not be allowed to pass.

The first 3 Covid-19 cases in Tuong Duong are all members of the same family. They were detected with the disease when they did a rapid screening test to go to the District Health Center for examination.

Accordingly, at noon on July 13, Ms. CTL (42 years old) and her son and daughter-in-law took their 2-month-old grandchild to the District Health Center for examination. When taking a rapid screening test before entering the hospital, Ms. L and her 22-year-old daughter-in-law tested positive three times in a row. The health agency then continued to take samples of the baby and her husband, and the results showed that the girl was also infected with Covid-19.

According to the patients’ statements, they had only recently gone to work in the fields and had not left the district. They had also not come into contact with anyone who had returned from a long trip. A few days before testing positive for Covid-19, the mother-in-law had symptoms of the disease such as fever, cough, fatigue, etc.