Tran Khanh Vui, 32, a local vendor, made contact with a 33-year-old male Covid-19 patient currently under treatment at a quarantine zone inside the Bac Lieu General Hospital on May 16.

The incident was exposed after another Covid-19 patient in the hospital informed authorities on May 19 that someone from the outside had entered the hospital’s quarantine zone.

The Bac Lieu Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Covid-19 said that subsequent investigation found that the 33-year-old Covid-19 patient had asked Vui to buy him cigarettes twice. The first time, Vui brought the cigarettes himself; then he asked his 9-year-old daughter to buy the cigarettes and deliver them to the Covid-19 patient.

After his contact with the Covid-19 patient on May 16, Vui continued to interact with several members of his community afterwards. A 50-year-old man, Tran Bich Hien, was confirmed to have made contact with Vui’s family. Authorities are trying to trace people who have made contact with Vui’s family and Hien, while the Bac Lieu General Hospital is also trying to see if anyone else inside the hospital made contact with Vui.

Vui’s family members and Hien have since been taken into the quarantine zone of the Bac Lieu General Hospital for Covid-19 testing.

Doctor Bui Quoc Nam, Director of Bac Lieu's Health Department, said their first Covid-19 tests have come back with negative results.

Police have been asked to guard the hospital to prevent similar incidents.

Bac Lieu General Hospital is treating 17 Covid-19 patients, who were among 297 Vietnamese repatriated from the UAE on May 3.

Vietnam has confirmed 324 Covid-19 cases so far, 60 of them active. The nation has gone without community transmission of the disease for more than a month.