The capital city of Hanoi is on red alert against the possibility of a fresh coronavirus outbreak after a coronavirus patient was confirmed by the local medical sector. 

The Hanoi Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control has convened an urgent meeting to deal with a possible emergence of a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the capital after a case was confirmed in the locality and nearly 100 cases were recorded in Hai Duong, a gateway to the capital. 

The male patient, 20, is a student of Hai Duong’s Chi Linh city, the country’s biggest coronavirus hotpot at present.

The student, who is currently living in Hanoi, went to Bach Mai hospital on January 27 for medical examination after showing flu-like symptoms such as a cough, a fever and a sore throat.  

He was tested on the same day and the result on the following day showed he had carried the virus. The patient was then transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases for medical surveillance and treatment.

At an urgent meeting on January 28, a representative of the Hanoi Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control also revealed that Hanoi has another two suspect cases, with one in Soc Son district and the other in Tay Ho district.

Dozens of people who had come into contact with the two suspect cases have been identified and quarantined for medical surveillance, said the representative.

Local epidemiological workers isolated and disinfected the places where the two suspect cases live.

Chu Xuan Dung, deputy head of the Hanoi municipal administration, described the risk of a fresh coronavirus outbreak in the locality as critically serious.  

“The situation in Hanoi now is very different from the meeting we had a week ago. It is at high risk, extremely high risk, on red alert,” Dung told the meeting.

He requested the local medical sector to work closely with partners in Hai Duong and Quang Ninh to hasten contact tracing and quarantine if new cases are detected.  

He also asked hospitals across the city to raise vigilance to the highest level regarding the screening of patients, and to review medical examination and treatment activities.

Hai Duong and Quang Ninh are two coronavirus hotspots in Vietnam at present. Nearly 100 cases have been confirmed after just two cases were announced on January 28.

The two hotpots are completely different, according to experts. The original Hai Duong case was infected with a new virus variant that had been registered in the United Kingdom.

The new variant is described as a super spreader which might come from technical experts working for Poyun Electronics Co. Ltd.

Meanwhile, the original Quang Ninh case, a staff member of Van Don International Airport, might get infection from imported cases.