Many COVID-19 patients have tested negative for coronavirus: committee

A medical worker tests samples at the disease control centre of Thanh Hoa province (Photo: VNA)

At its meeting on March 27, the committee reported that as of the day’s morning, Vietnam had recorded 153 cases positive for SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19, 17 of whom had fully recovered. Later the same day, three more cases in Da Nang city were also discharged from hospital.

Thirty-seven patients have tested negative once while 13 others had their treatment finished, including eight negative twice and five negative thrice, it said, noting that the three patients in serious conditions are currently under intensive care at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

Regarding the hotbed at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, three of its units related to COVID-19 cases, namely the institute for cardiovascular diseases, the neurology department and the centre for tropical diseases, have been kept in complete quarantine, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said.

Screening tests are being conducted for all the hospital staff, nearly 4,000 people, and about 1,000 patients treated for other diseases there. It has also suspended certain services, widened the gap between patient beds at overloaded departments, and examined patients to ensure that they do not contract the virus before leaving hospital.

Authorities of Ho Chi Minh City have seen 153 people with direct contact with SARS-CoV-2 cases at Buddha Bar in District 1 going to concentrated quarantine facilities. Meanwhile, the hotbeds linked with Case 100 in the city’s District 8 and Case 34 in Phan Thiet city of Binh Thuan province have also been quarantined.

Basically, the hotbeds have been placed under control, the deputy minister noted.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the national steering committee, said some opinions forecast Vietnam would have had 1,000 people positive for SARS-CoV-2 by March 31. However, this figure is calculated basing on the speed of the virus spread in the world as statistics show that the average time for the number of COVID-19 cases to rise from 100 to 1,000 in the world is nine days.

By taking concerted and effective measures, Vietnam has had a good control of the pandemic, and it won’t have had 1,000 infection cases by March 31, according to him.

If each people seriously complies with directions by the Party, the Government and the steering committee, and follow health agencies’ recommendations, the country will definitely come to success like in the first phase of the COVID-19 fight, he said, adding that it is determined to limit the number of cases at less than 1,000.