The latest recovered, all Vietnamese, were treated at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Vietnam’s recovery rate now stands at 82%.
They are known as Patients 257 and 264 – a female duo from Hanoi’s Me Linh District, while the remaining woman (Patient 270) is a 22-year-old female from Yen Dung District in the northern province of Bac Giang.
All are eligible for discharge after consecutive negative results for the SARS-CoV-2 virus and are now in stable health with no fever, no cough and no shortness of breath.
They will continue to undergo self-isolation for further health monitoring over the next 14 days as prescribed by COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.
As of 2 pm on May 18, Vietnam’s total COVID-19 count remains at 320, while up to 263 patients or 82% have recovered from the disease and there have been no deaths. The remainder are still undergoing treatment at ten medical facilities across the nation.
The country has seen 32 straight days without any community transmission. There are currently a total of 180 imported cases all of which were quarantined upon their arrival.
Regarding Patient 91 – the only seriously ill COVID-19 patient in Vietnam, the 43-year-old British pilot has improved a bit, according to doctors from the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, the facility which is providing treatment for him.
The patient currently has no fever, no bleeding, no pneumothorax and his lung coagulation is not increasing (about 90% of the patient's lung surface has solidified).
He has tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 over 10 consecutive days. However, the patient’s body is still completely relying on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support, as well as antibiotic drugs.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has decided to carry out a lung transplant as the optimal treatment for the British national. The patient is expected to be transferred to Cho Ray Hospital to undergo the preparation stage and to await the transplant.
According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, although Vietnam has not recorded any new cases of infection in the community for many days, the disease is still complicated and unpredictable in the region and around the world, and it poses a risk of entering Vietnam in the near future due to the gradual reopening of international routes and flights in order to welcome Vietnamese citizens back home, as well as entry for foreign investors and hi-tech experts.
Assoc. Prof., Dr. Tran Dac Phu, former Head of the MoH’s Department of Preventive Medicine, said that Vietnam is still capable of isolating entrants into the country, as well as testing all isolated cases at least twice (when returning to Vietnam and 14 days before leaving isolation camps).
The nation has maintained its epidemic prevention strategy which has been implemented since the initial outbreak, that is to prevent, quarantine, localise and thoroughly suppress any outbreaks. All Vietnamese citizens who return to their home country must undergo 14-day isolation and be tested at least twice, as well as being placed under health monitoring after finishing their isolation.
