The Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang has recently discovered a group of foreign tourists, including a British citizen who had been infected with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, travelling to a number of places of interest within the locality.

The Bassac Pandaw cruise ship is placed on lockdown in Cambodia 

Information regarding the group was unveiled during a March 12 meeting of the provincial Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control to discuss urgent measures to deal with the rapidly spreading pandemic.

The incident occurred when four British tourists on flight VN0054 entered Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh City on March 2 before travelling by car to Tien Giang province.

Upon arriving at the port in My Tho city, the group then boarded the Bassac Pandaw cruise ship which was set to travel to Cambodia.

During the journey, the cruise ship stopped at Tan Phong island in Cai Lay district before heading to Cuu Long pottery village on the outskirts of Cai Be town.

It was only when the ship docked in Cambodia that local medical workers conducted medical examinations, during which they discovered one case of the COVID-19 infection.

Following the discovery, all crew members and passengers on board the Bassac Pandaw were put into lockdown by Cambodian authorities with all people being forced to go into a period of isolation.

Subsequently, police in Tien Giang province have sent a written request to the provincial Center for Disease Control to immediately co-ordinate alongside relevant authorities and localities in a bid to disinfect locations where the cruise ship anchored as a means of preventing the potential spread of the epidemic.