'Wholesale market outbreak in Vinh City is forecast to pose a very high risk'

Thanh Chung (Implementation)• June 25, 2021 12:25

(Baonghean.vn) - That is the assessment of Nghe An Health Department about the outbreak at Vinh city wholesale market. To clarify the issue, Nghe An Newspaper interviewed Dr. Nguyen Huu Le - Deputy Director of the Department of Health.

Blockade of the main gate of Vinh wholesale market, it is known that the patient is a vegetable vendor at this market. Photo: Quang An

PV: Could you tell us about the "epidemic" situation at Vinh City wholesale market?

Dr. Nguyen Huu Le:Through community screening tests on the evening of June 20, we discovered a case of TTH, female, 39 years old, in Hung Hoa commune, Vinh city, positive for SARS-CoV-2. Through tracing and epidemiological investigation, the patient often took goods from Vinh wholesale market to sell.

After that, the health sector discovered some more F1 cases of patient TTH who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Up to now, there have been 9 cases of COVID-19 related to this wholesale market.

Based on the epidemiological situation, we see that the probability of people in contact with TTH patients having a very high positive rate, we believe that this could be a potential "epidemic hotbed". Along with that, Vinh city wholesale market is located right next to Vinh market - the largest commercial and trading center of the province. The wholesale market is also the largest supplier of vegetables, tubers, and fruits in Nghe An, so the risk of infection is very high, which can spread the disease widely.

PV: Given this situation, what measures has the Nghe An Department of Health advised the province to implement to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic?

Dr. Nguyen Huu Le:Nghe An Department of Health has advised the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Nghe An province and Vinh city to hold an urgent meeting to drastically deploy epidemic prevention measures, organize investigation and tracing of F1, F2, quarantine, and take samples of F1 and people living in the blockade area and neighboring areas.

At noon on June 23, Hong Son ward (Vinh city) temporarily suspended the entire Vinh wholesale market and Vinh market's Tay communal house to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic; the authorities set up 8 checkpoints to control people and vehicles in this area, preventing people from entering or leaving.

The chemical defense force has been assigned to spray disinfectants throughout the wholesale market. Photo: Quang An
The health sector has also taken samples for testing for about 500 traders and security forces at Vinh wholesale market and Dinh Tay market. At the same time, chemicals have been sprayed to disinfect areas related to the patient.

On the afternoon of June 24, the chemical troops of Military Region 4 sprayed disinfectants throughout the market. All walkways and kiosks in the market area were disinfected according to the procedure.

On June 24, after continuing to detect patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 related to wholesale markets in Hong Son and Vinh Tan wards (Vinh City), the Department of Health advised the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Nghe An province to hold an urgent meeting with the leaders of Vinh city and the two related wards, Hong Son and Vinh Tan, with the motto of "quick action" to quickly take samples for testing on a large scale for all people in Hong Son ward and most of Vinh Tan ward.

Khẩn trương lấy mẫu xét nghiệm cho người dân phường Hồng Sơn, Vinh Tân. Ảnh: Thành Chung
Urgently taking test samples for people in Hong Son ward, Vinh Tan. Photo: Thanh Chung
And the sampling session on the evening of June 24 was different from the previous sampling session in that it only took representative samples of households. This time, we made a list and took samples for all family members so as not to miss any cases of the disease. On the evening of June 24, the health sector collected samples from 1,224 households with 3,853 people in the two wards of Hong Son and Vinh Tan.

Currently, the Department of Health has requested the Vinh City People's Committee to temporarily block off Hong Son and Vinh Tan wards until the SARS-CoV-2 test results are available.

Since the appearance of the case at Vinh City wholesale market, Nghe An Department of Health has issued urgent notices about the case's itinerary to find people who have been in contact with and visited places where COVID-19 patients are present; at the same time, there is a document requesting the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of districts, cities and towns to direct the People's Committees at the commune level, tracing teams, and community COVID-19 Teams to urgently review and trace each household and organize sample collection for testing; for cases returning from Vinh City wholesale market within 21 days, it is recommended to organize quarantine at home or at the place of residence.

PV: What advice do you have for people at this time?

Temporarily block Hong Son and Vinh Tan wards. Photo: Quang An

Dr. Nguyen Huu Le:We consider Vinh city wholesale market to be a high-risk epidemic area. However, people need to stay calm, not panic too much, and need to follow the 5K recommendations of the Ministry of Health.

In addition, to ensure safety in preventing and fighting the COVID-19 epidemic in Nghe An province, Nghe An Department of Health recommends that all people who have been to Vinh City wholesale market from June 1 to 23, 2021 should immediately contact the nearest commune or ward health station for support; call the hotline and provide the phone numbers of people who have been in close contact with them at 1900.9095 (Ministry of Health) and 02386.555.666 (Nghe An Provincial Center for Disease Control).

People in localities related to Vinh wholesale market need to immediately go to medical facilities to declare and have samples taken for screening tests.

Thanh Chung (Implementation)