A 57-year-old resident of Da Nang city, central Vietnam, has been diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to the Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 update on July 24.

The patient has been admitted to Hospital C in Da Nang for medical surveillance 

The man, who lives in Lien Chieu district, has twice tested positive for the virus by the Da Nang Centre for Disease Control and Hospital C.

Doctors are awaiting the results to be confirmed by the Nha Trang Pasteur’s Institute and the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

The patient said he had virus symptoms like a high temperature, a cough with sputum on July 20, and decided to see a doctor at Hospital C in Da Nang City the same day.

Both RT-PCR tests on July 23 showed the man had been infected with the virus. The test samples have been sent to the Nha Trang Pasteur’s Institute and the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for confirmation.

The patient said he has only stayed in Da Nang taking care of family affairs and meeting with his neighbours.

The Da Nang Municipal Department of Health tested those who had close contact with the patient, with 102 samples all coming back negative.

The department also directed relevant agencies to conduct epidemiological investigations, trace close contacts, and cordon off the patient’s house, in an attempt to prevent the possible spread of the virus to the community.

If the test is confirmed, this will the first coronavirus case detected in the community over 99 days in a row in Vietnam. 

(To be continued...)