A Vietnamese man who returned to Việt Nam from the US has been confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2 by the Ha Noi Centre for Disease Control after being discharged from centralised quarantine.

The family hotel where the latest Covid-19 patient stayed was lockdown

Authorities of Ha Long City in Quang Ninh Province, where the 22-year-old man resides, said the man landed at Nội Bài International Airport on December 20 on a repatriation flight from the US and was sent to a quarantine facility in Chuong My District, Ha Noi.

During his 14-day quarantine, he tested negative for the virus once. On January 2 he was tested for a second time. On January 4, he completed his quarantine and left for his home in Bai Chay Ward of Ha Long City. On the same day, his positive test result came back, but after he had been allowed to leave.

Authorities have traced people who were in contact with him, namely five family members and eight others who were formerly quarantined with the man in Chuong My.

All five family members have been quarantined and tested negative for the coronavirus once, while the eight people he quarantined with have tested negative twice, but will be isolated for another 14 days and continue Covid-19 screening.

On the night of January 4 and early morning of January 5, the local centre for disease control took the man to the Field Hospital No. 2, sprayed disinfectant at the hotel where he stayed, the area where his family resides in Bai Chay Ward and the restaurant where close contacts had dinner.

Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control, said the patient being allowed to leave before the second test came back was not in compliance with quarantine regulations.

He added that the man had no contact with anyone in Ha Noi, so there were no F1 cases related to him in the capital.

Source: VNS