The north-western border province of Dien Bien have registered the first coronavirus cases, becoming the 11th coronavirus-ravaged locality in Vietnam. 

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long announces measures to help Dien Bien halt the spread
of the virus in the community at a an online meeting on February 5.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long announced two positive cases in Dien Bien at an online meeting with localities on February 5 meeting, but Dien Bien authorities later put it at six following the results of tests.

Two of the cases are local residents who returned to their homes from Cam Giang district of Hai Duong province, the country’s biggest coronavirus hotspot. They have undergone two tests and have been confirmed by the Ministry of Health.  

Four other cases detected by the Dien Bien Centre of Diseases Control are awaiting confirmation from the Ministry of Health following the second test.

Local authorities held an emergency meeting on Feb. 4 evening to respond to an possible outbreak of the virus in the province.

Relevant agencies moved to lock down areas where positive cases were detected and speed up contact tracing right over night.

By February 5 morning, they tracked down more than 400 people who had come into close contact with the patients.

Currently, Dien Bien has a Realtime RT-PCR machine is capable of working on just 250 samples a day. Local authorities were afraid their healthcare sector will find it hard to respond to an outbreak if the virus spreads to the wider community.

Minister Long said the MoH will dispatch doctors and specialists from Bach Mai Hospital and the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to assist Dien Bien with COVID-19 testing and treatment. The ministry will also consider supplying equipment to the province on its request.

Elsewhere, Hanoi capital, Hai Duong and Quang Ninh provinces, also recorded new cases in the morning.

Vietnam has confirmed 381 coronavirus infections since the virus recurred in Hai Duong and Quang Ninh provinces in late January.