A British pilot working for national carrier Vietnam Airlines has been identified as the latest COVID-19 patient in Viet Nam among the four new cases confirmed by the Ministry of Health on Friday evening.

Vietnamese people return to Viet Nam via Noi Bai international airport in Ha Noi

They bring the total number of COVID-19 infections in Viet Nam to 91.

The 43-year-old pilot, residing in HCM City’s District 2, was a passenger on flight VN10 from London to Viet Nam on February 8. He has been unable to provide an accurate account of his routine or what flights he worked on since then.

He confirmed he piloted flight VN272 from HCM City to Ha Noi on March 16 and flight VN607 from Ha Noi to HCM City later the same day.

He started to show signs of fever and cough on March 17 and was hospitalised at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases on March 18. He tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus at the hospital on March 18 and by the HCM City Pasteur Institute on March 20.

Another patient is a 25-year-old Vietnamese student in the UK who lives in Ha Noi’s Ha Dong District. She returned to Viet Nam from the UK via Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi on March 12.

She had self-quarantined at home from March 12 but started to experience breathing difficulties on March 16. She subsequently tested positive for the virus.

A 22-year-old female in HCM City’s District 7 is another patient. She was flown from the US to Japan and then from Japan to Viet Nam’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City on Nippon Airlines flight NH831 on late March 17. Her sample was taken on the early morning of March 18 and tested positive.

The last patient is a 21-year-old girl in HCM City’s Binh Thanh District. She has been in Barcelona on a hotel internship for the last month. She took Emirates Airlines flight EK188 from Barcelona to Dubai and then flight EK392 to Viet Nam’s Tan Son Nhat Airport on March 16. She had a slight fever and cough when she entered Việt Nam and was immediately put under quarantine. She then tested positive for the virus.

All the patients are now under quarantine and in stable conditions.

Source: VNS/ DA NANG Today