Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung tested negative for coronavirus
The Minister of Planning and Investment has just tested negative for the coronavirus. He sat in the same business class cabin as patient NHN (the 17th case of coronavirus infection announced last night).
This morning, the Ministry of Planning and Investment disinfected the entire headquarters.
Minister Nguyen Chi Dung was one of the people on the same flight (Vietnam Airlines flight number VN0054, landing at Noi Bai airport at 4:30 a.m. on March 2) with female patient N.
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| Vietnam has just announced the 20th positive case. |
Ms. N. sat in seat 5K, while the Minister of Planning and Investment sat in seat 1A in the same business class.
At the meeting this morning of the Hanoi Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, Vietnam Airlines General Director Duong Tri Thanh said that the plane had just returned this morning and had been disinfected. The flight attendants and pilots were also quarantined according to the regulations of the Ministry of Health.
According to Mr. Thanh, flight VN0054 had 201 passengers, including 21 passengers in the business class (including 3 Vietnamese and 18 foreigners) sitting in the area next to patient N.
Sitting near patient N. on flights with seats 4G, 4K, 5G, 6G, 6K and the flight attendant delivering food are considered close contact with the patient.
In the business class cabin, there was a working delegation from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, including Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, who was on the same flight as patient N. Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said that through analysis, there was only one row of seats adjacent to the patient's seat.
"The two cases of the Ministry of Planning and Investment delegation both sat 4-5 meters away from passenger N. and always walked on the other side (the plane has 2 aisles)," said Mr. Chung. Patient N. wore a mask, boarded last and exited first, so it is not certain that all 217 people on the same flight were at risk.
After returning to Noi Bai Airport from the UK, flight VN0054 made 6 more flights to Saigon, the UK and several other countries. From this, it can be concluded that the person at highest risk of infection on this flight was the person sitting in seat 5K flying from Hanoi to Saigon at 6am on March 2.
In addition, on these 6 flights, there were 5 passengers sitting in seat 5K, including 1 Vietnamese person and the remaining 4 foreigners.
This aircraft has been taken out of service for disinfection and evaluation.