Director of the municipal Department of Health Ngo Thi Kim Yen announced on Monday that a fifth case of the novel coronavirus has been confirmed in the city. 

The latest case was confirmed in a 24-year-old Vietnamese woman returning from Thailand. She has become the 122^th case to be diagnosed with coronavirus in Viet Nam till date.  

The city’s 5^th patient, a female resident of the central province of Ha Tinh, worked for a pub in Bangkok, Thailand.

At 12.20pm on 20 March, she flew to Da Nang on a flight TG947 from Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

After implementing entry procedures and making health declaration with local health officials at the city’s airport, the woman was sent to the Centre for Training National Defense and Security Knowledge, located at 86 Nguyen Chanh in Lien Chieu District, for 2-week quarantine.

On 21 and 22 March, the woman was placed in isolation in the room No 17 with 29 others.

On 22 March, the staff of the city's Centre for Disease Control took throat swabs and blood serum samples of the woman and her roommates to test for the new virus. As a result, the woman tested positive for the virus on 23 March, whilst tests on her roommates came back negative.

Currently, the infected patient is receiving treatment at the Da Nang General Hospital, and her health conditions are stable.

After tests on the woman came back positive on Monday, local health officials have identified a total of 150 passengers and crew members who shared a plane with her from Thailand to Da Nang on 20 March. 143 of them are Vietnamese citizens who are under quarantine at designated sites in the city, whilst the remaining 7 are foreigners who have already returned home.

After the female native of Ha Tinh Province tested positive for the virus, the Da Nang CDC reported the confirmed case to the municipal Department of Health. In addition, the Da Nang CDC worked with the Hai Chau District Medical Centre and the Centre for Training National Defense and Security Knowledge to isolate the patient for control of infection purposes. Contact tracing were conducted to identify close contacts of the confirmed case.  Medical staff also sprayed disinfectant at a room where the patient had stayed, and around her quarantine site.

The municipal Department of Health has traced 142 close contacts of the infected patients. Among the close contacts are 8 women who shared a room with the patient, and 9 men who sat near her on a flight from Thailand to Da Nang and a coach from the Da airport to the quarantine site she travelled on. All 17 close contacts are quarantined at the Hoa Vang District Medical Centre.

Besides, 23 others who shared a room with the patient, and 102 passengers who travelled on a TG947 flight with her have been placed in isolation at designated sites in the city to monitor their health.

By PHAN CHUNG – Translated by MAI DUNG