The story of a worker from Nghe An who sat on the same flight as a Covid-19 patient asking to be quarantined

On the morning of March 15, speaking with a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper, Ms. Vo Thi Chung - Head of Hung Tan Medical Station (Hung Nguyen) said that the health of Mr. PTC (25 years old, living in Hamlet 2, Hung Tan Commune) is currently stable, with no unusual signs. Mr. C. is being quarantined at a medical facility to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic.

Mr. C. was one of 11 passengers from Nghe An who were on flight QR968 to Noi Bai airport on the morning of March 13. One of the passengers on the flight later tested positive for Covid-19. However, immediately after landing at Noi Bai airport, although there was no information that anyone on the flight was infected with the disease, Mr. C. proactively contacted the medical facility in his hometown to report the situation and asked to be quarantined.

Ms. Chung (wearing a mask) went to people's homes to guide them on safe quarantine. Photo: Contributor

Ms. Vo Thi Chung said that at 11:00 a.m. on March 13, when flight QR968 had just landed, the Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control of Hung Tan Commune received information from Mr. C's family to report. Mr. C. is a worker in Romania - a country where the epidemic has not yet broken out strongly.

"Their family reported that their son called to report that the epidemic was complicated, so they were worried and asked for advice from the Commune Steering Committee. But at this time, because his health was normal and he had not returned from an epidemic area, he could not be quarantined in a centralized manner," Ms. Chung said. Despite this, with a proactive spirit, at 2:00 p.m. on March 13, the commune's working group went directly to the family to guide them on home quarantine when the worker returned home.

At 4:30 p.m. on March 13, Mr. C. returned home. But before returning, under the guidance of the Steering Committee, the family arranged a closed room on the 2nd floor, fully equipped with necessities and disinfectant solution.

The District Medical Center's car came to Mr. C's house to take him to centralized quarantine. Photo: Contributor

This family was so careful that when he returned, the whole family temporarily hid. They waited until C. entered the house, went to his room and closed the door before returning. At mealtimes, food was placed in front of the room door. Therefore, C. had not come into contact with anyone, including his family, since returning home.

At 8:00 a.m. on March 14, the Nghe An Department of Health received information about a person on the flight that brought Mr. C. back to Vietnam who tested positive for Covid-19. At this time, the Ministry of Health has not yet announced this case.
Upon receiving the information, the Commune Steering Committee held an urgent meeting, promptly asked for opinions from superiors and regularly contacted the family. At 2:30 p.m. on March 14, Hung Nguyen Medical Center used a specialized vehicle to directly take Mr. C. to centralized quarantine. Immediately after that, the Commune Steering Committee organized spraying of disinfectants and sterilization around the area and instructed Mr. C.'s family to avoid traveling and contacting many people.

Also in Hung Tan commune, a few days ago, Mr. HVH (37 years old) "repeatedly" asked to be quarantined, which also received positive support from the public. Mr. H. has been working in Japan for more than a year now, sharing a room with 3 other people. Recently, all of these people have developed symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, etc. Meanwhile, in the place where Mr. H. lives, within a radius of 1 km, there have been 5 people infected with Covid-19.

Worried that he was also infected, Mr. H. went to many medical facilities in Japan for examination and was advised to return home. He then called the Vietnamese Consulate in Japan and received similar advice.

Authorities in Nghe An had to stay up all night to stop a passenger bus to take medical statements.

After arriving at Noi Bai airport on the afternoon of March 11, Mr. H. made a medical declaration and proactively requested to be quarantined but was refused. He then called the Ministry of Health hotline and took a bus to his hometown in Nghe An. Along the way, he proactively called his family to report to the local authorities. Upon receiving the news, Nghe An authorities set up a checkpoint at midnight to bring the bus into the quarantine area and took samples from Mr. H. for testing.

Tien Hung