A doctor of the Hà Nội Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital shows how to wash your hands correctly. — Photo courtesy of the Hà Nội Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital

HÀ NỘI — Some 63 doctors and nurses of the Hà Nội Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital have been quarantined at the hospital on Monday after the 243rd COVID-19 patient was confirmed on the same day.

The 243rd patient is a 47-year-old Vietnamese man, from Mê Linh Commune, Mê Linh District in Hà Nội. He took his wife to Bạch Mai Hospital for a health examination on March 12 and returned home the same day. The couple had lunch at a restaurant opposite the hospital and did not return to the hospital.

Last Friday, he took his wife to the Hà Nội Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital for examination without declaring that he and his wife had visited Bạch Mai Hospital on March 12 as per requirements of the Ministry of Health. So, the hospital treated them as normal patients.

The patient's local health authorities took his sample for testing last Saturday after learning he had visited Bạch Mai hospital and the test result showed he was positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on Monday.

Initial statistics show that 17 of 63 doctors and nurses had direct contact with the 243rd patient.

In response to the situation, the city’s Centre for Disease Control immediately conducted disinfection measures at the hospital as per regulations on Monday.

This is the 8th medical facility in the city that has to quarantine a large number of medical staff after detecting contact with a COVID-19 infected case.

This situation has caused public concern due to its impact on healthcare staff during the pandemic. 

Bạch Mai Hospital quarantine measures stepped up

Anyone who visited Hà Nội's Bạch Mai Hospital from March 12 on will have to self-quarantine for a further 14 days after the completion of their concentrated quarantine.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyễn Đức Chung made the order at a meeting of the city’s steering committee for COVID-19 pandemic prevention on Monday, Tiền Phong (Vanguard) online newspaper reported.

The maximum time for them to be quarantined would last until April 20, he said.

The order came after the city recorded one more COVID-19 infection on Monday. The patient had gone to Bạch Mai Hospital for a medical examination on March 12.

The patient's local health authorities took his sample for testing last Saturday after learning he had visited the hospital. The test result showed he was positive with the SARS-CoV-2 virus on Monday.

So, the incubation period was 23 days, he added. 

Chung also said the People’s Committee of every ward had to require self-quarantined people to wear masks, correctly wash their hands and avoid contact with their relatives to lessen the risk of infection.

Chung said the move aimed to minimise the number of infections in the city because Hà Nội currently had the highest number of COVID-19 patients nationwide.

The order also applied for people who contacted the 237^th patient, a 64-year-old Swedish man, who was reported infected with the coronavirus after being hospitalised in a traffic accident last Friday.

As the authorities had failed to identify the source of the infection in that case, risk of community transmission was now high, he said.

“We need adequate preparation for the situation,” he said.— VNS