A 32-year-old woman from the northern province of Hai Duong has tested positive for the new coronavirus variant upon her arrival in Japan, local health authorities said Wednesday.

Medical quarantine area. — Photo from the Ministry of Health

Pham Duy Tuyen, Director of Hai Duong Province Centre for Disease Control (CDC), said the woman’s positive test result was available on January 17 at Japan's airport where Covid-19 screening tests are done for all arrivals, but only yesterday did local authorities were informed of the situation.

N.T.G was a worker at a factory in Hai Duong and was sent to Japan on an overseas labour agreement on a flight departing from Ha Noi and transiting through Singapore on January 17, Tuyen said.

Genomic sequencing results on Tuesday indicates that G. was infected with the coronavirus variant first reported in the UK, which was considered to be much more transmissible though not necessarily resulting in more serious disease.

Viet Nam as of Wednesday has not recorded any new cases of Covid-19 in the community for 57 consecutive days, according to the health ministry.

Hung Dao Commune in Chi Linh City, where the woman was living, said they only received the information on Tuesday, and have identified 16 close contacts of the suspected case – mostly her relatives.

The close contacts have been moved to centralised quarantine facilities for isolation and will be tested for Covid-19.

Their places of residences have also been disinfected.

The management of Cong Hoa Industrial Park, where G. worked prior to her trip to Japan, is also tracking people she had close contact with.

Further epidemiologic investigation is ongoing, commune’s authorities said.

G. took part in a Japanese language training course in Ha Noi, and returned to her hometown and worked in Hai Duong since August last year.

On January 16, G. left for Ha Noi to do pre-flight procedures and her Covid-19 test returns negative. She then came back to Hai Duong to have a farewell party.

On January 17, G.'s family rented a car, with eight on board, to leave for Noi Bai International Airport in Ha Noi.

There have been many similar cases reported since last year where a Vietnamese entrants to Japan tested positive upon arrival at the airports, but later PCR tests returned negative for coronavirus.

Source: VNS