HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Health on Wednesday evening announced seven new confirmed COVID-19 patients, including a frontline doctor and three returning students from the UK, bringing the country’s total to 141.

The latest case is a 29-year-old doctor working at the emergency unit of the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, where most of the coronavirus patients in Hà Nội are being treated.

The cause of infection was determined to be when he helped put an infected patient on a ventilator, the same day another doctor of the hospital was deemed to have been exposed to the virus and became patient No.116, which was announced two days ago.

The 135th patient is a 27-year-old woman returning to Việt Nam on March 21 at Đà Nẵng international airport on flight PG947, taking off from Copenhagen, Denmark, and transiting in Doha and Bangkok. After immigration, the patient was sent to a concentrated quarantine site in the central city.

The 136th patient is a 23-year-old female student from the US, arriving at Nội Bài international airport in Hà Nội on March 16. She then self-isolated at home. On March 21, she began suffering from a temperature. A day later, Hoàng Mai District’s health centre took her clinical samples and ruled her infected with SARS-CoV-2. On March 24, her samples were sent to be tested for confirmation at the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the results returned positive.

She is being treated at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases.

The 137th patient is a 36-year-old man returning to Việt Nam after visiting Germany. After immigration at Nội Bài international airport in Hà Nội, he was sent to concentrated quarantine.

Three Vietnamese students – a 21-year-old and 23-year-old male, and a 24-year-old female – studying in the UK, who returned to Việt Nam at Nội Bài international airport on flight VN0054 (Vietnam Airlines), have been confirmed as the 138th, 139th, and 140th patients.

All of them were immediately quarantined and had their clinical samples taken by health workers after immigration procedures were completed and they are now receiving treatment at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội.

All the newly confirmed cases are reportedly in stable health condition.

There has been no COVID-19 related deaths in vietnam so far. — VNS