Speaking at the handover ceremony, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long expressed his solidarity with the hardships being experienced in Bac Ninh during the latest resurgence of COVID-19, while highly lauding the local efforts in epidemic prevention and control, as the province has basically controlled the outbreaks while implementing the "dual goals" of both fighting COVID-19 and boosting socio-economic development.
Saying that the risk of the epidemic lasting longer, affecting the local economy, society, production, and the daily life of local people, especially those in quarantine, the minister suggested the province always put prevention and anti-epidemic work as a high priority.
Long also called for more support towards Bac Ninh and its neighbouring province of Bac Giang – the two localities most affected by the latest wave of COVID-19 infections, stressing that Bac Ninh and Bac Giang's anti-epidemic work would contribute to the whole country's efforts in fighting against COVID-19.
Secretary of the Bac Ninh Provincial Party Committee Dao Hong Lan affirmed that since detecting the first COVID-19 case in the current wave, the province has quickly traced related cases. However, due to the new strain of COVID-19 with its strong rate of contagion, the province, with its high population density of 1,664 people/km2 and its 10 industrial parks in with over 400,000 workers, still faces certain difficulties with complicated situation.
12 more patients recovered
On the morning of the same day, No. 1 field hospital in Bac Ninh announced the recovery of 12 more COVID-19 patients being treated there.
They are the first to be declared as recovered and discharged from the hospital since the latest outbreak in Bac Ninh from May 5 to present. After being discharged from the hospital, they must continue to self-isolate and monitor their health at home for 14 days. Before the self-isolation period ends, the patients will be re-tested.
The 300-bed hospital located at the Tien Du District Medical Centre is treating 150 COVID-19 patients. In addition to the 12 discharged today, four more patients have now tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 for the first time.
As of 6 am on May 24, Bac Ninh has recorded a total of 499 cases positive for SARS-CoV-2. The province has also detected 4,701 close contacts (F1s) to such COVID-19 cases (F0s), along with more than 32,000 close contacts to the F1 cases (F2s).
Also on May 24, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control confirmed one more COVID-19 related death – a 38-year-old worker at an industrial park in Bac Giang, raising the death toll in Vietnam to 44.
After having tested positive to coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the female patient received treatment at the Health Centre in Yen Dung district from May 17.
After five days of treatment, her health condition worsened with signs of respiratory failure. She was hospitalised in Bac Giang General Hospital on May 22, where she was diagnosed with pneumonia with symptoms of respiratory failure.
At the midnight of May 23, the patient showed shortness of breath and lung damage, and received high flow oxygen therapy. However, her condition did not improve. She died early on the morning of May 24 due to septic shock and pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2, with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
This is the ninth death in the fourth wave of COVID-19 since April 27.
A total of 33 more COVID-19 infections were recorded over the past six hours to 12 pm today, all in quarantine facilities and sealed-off areas, announced the Health Ministry.
Among the new cases, 28 were reported in Bac Giang, four in Hai Duong province and one in Da Nang city.
The figure brought the national tally to 5,308, including 3,823 domestically-transmitted cases.
According to the ministry’s Medical Examination Administration, the country has seen 2,721 recoveries and 44 deaths related to the disease.
Among the active patients, 56 have tested negative for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once, 31 twice, and 31 thrice.
Regarding a 43-year-old woman's positive test result for SARS-CoV-2, who lives at R4A Goldmark City building in Phu Dien ward, Hanoi’s Bac Tu Liem district has implemented medical isolation of the building with a total of 1,909 households and 5,752 residents. The functional force temporarily closed all doors, built a three-layer blockade plan, notified people at the building temporarily not to go out in order to carry out sampling, tracing and disinfection.
The General Department of Taxation has issued a notice to suspend receiving guests at its headquarters at No. 123 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi from May 24 due to a civil servant having had regular contact with a COVID-19 patient (Patient 5242). Currently, the unit has contacted the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control and implemented epidemic prevention measures, while requesting its employees present at the office today to temporarily stay at the agency to carry out the prevention and control work at the request of the local health authority.
On May 24, the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Ho Chi Minh City issued a notice guiding the organisation of the three-month annual retreat Vassa in accordance with the provisions of COVID-19 prevention and control. Accordingly, the event will be delayed by a month with minimised activities and gatherings.
