Việt Nam confirms 9th coronavirus case, Hong Kong reports first death from infection

HÀ NỘI — One more person has tested positive for coronavirus in Việt Nam, bringing the number of confirmed infections to nine, according to the Ministry of Health.

The male patient is 30 years old, from Minh Quang Commune, Tam Đảo District in the northern province of Vĩnh Phúc.

He has been isolated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội and is in a stable condition.

He was among eight people returning from Wuhan City in China on the same flight. Four of them were infected with the virus.

Eight Vietnamese people were sent to Wuhan City for training by Nihon Plast Co Ltd of Japan and returned to Việt Nam on China Southern Airlines fight CZ8315 on January 17.

One of the patients has now been released after doctors confirmed she was free of the virus.

Việt Nam has so far reported 304 suspected cases of coronavirus, 214 have tested negative for the virus and 90 are in quarantine while samples are tested.

As of Monday night, 50 provinces and cities out of 63 in the country have announced days off for students, with 30 allowing up to one week off (January 2-9), at least for the time being. 

 

People wearing face masks in Hong Kong on Monday. — AFP/VNA Photo

Meanwhile, a 39-year-old man infected with novel coronavirus died on Tuesday in a Hong Kong hospital, the first death case in Hong Kong, the hospital's spokesperson confirmed.

The patient, a Hong Kong resident with underlying illness, was confirmed on January 31 as Hong Kong's 13th case of novel coronavirus infection, and was admitted to the Princess Margaret Hospital for isolation and treatment.

He died on Tuesday morning at the hospital after his condition deteriorated, a spokesperson of the hospital said.

The man lived in Whampoa Garden, a private housing estate in Kowloon. He took high-speed rail train from Hong Kong to Wuhan, Hubei Province, on January 21 and from Changsha, Hunan Province, to Hong Kong on January 23. He sought treatment on January 31 after having myalgia and fever.

Investigations by Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection (CHP) revealed that he neither visited any health care facilities, wet markets or seafood markets, nor had any exposure to wild animals during the incubation period.

People with close contact with the patient, including his mother, wife, daughter, son and domestic helper, were transferred to quarantine center for medical monitoring.His 72-year-old mother was confirmed on Sunday as Hong Kong's 15th case of novel coronavirus infection, and has been transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment.

Chinese health authorities on Tuesday said it received reports of 3,235 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 64 deaths on Monday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

All of the deaths are in Hubei Province, according to China's National Health Commission. Another 5,072 new suspected cases were reported on Monday, said the commission.

Also on Monday, 492 patients became seriously ill, and 157 people were discharged from hospital after recovery. The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 20,438 by the end of Monday, the commission said, noting that a total of 425 people had died of the disease.

The commission added that 2,788 patients remained in severe condition, and 23,214 people were suspected of being infected with the virus. A total of 632 people had been discharged from hospital after recovery. The commission said 221,015 close contacts had been traced, adding that among them, 12,755 were discharged from medical observation on Monday, with 171,329 others still under medical observation.

Global effort against virus

The World Bank called on Monday for countries to step up programs to fight the new coronavirus outbreak, and said it was considering mobilising its own resources against the disease.

"We are calling on all countries to strengthen their health surveillance and response systems, which is essential to contain the spread of this and any future outbreaks," the institution said in a statement.

"The World Bank Group is reviewing financial and technical resources that can be mobilised quickly to support affected countries," and also "closely coordinating with international partners to accelerate the international response."

The new virus has infected 17,200 people and spread to more than 20 countries amid fears it could paralyse China and harm the global economy.

The World Bank said it was "monitoring the wider economic and social impacts of this crisis" and would support "China's efforts to respond, including its efforts to maintain resilience in its economy".

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva said last week that negative impacts on the economy in the first half of 2020 were likely but "it would be irresponsible to offer any speculations around what may happen." — XINHUA/AFP/VNS