Pín Tủng Hamlet, Đồng Văn District where the 16-year old patient lives. — Photo dongvan.hagiang.gov.vn

HÀ GIANG — Pín Tủng Hamlet and two healthcare facilities in Đồng Văn District in the northern mountainous province of Hà Giang have been placed under lockdown after a 16-year-old ethnic minority girl tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 on Thursday.

The provincial health sector will provide essential items to households under lockdown in the village.

According to the provincial Department of Health, the teenage girl visited Phó Bảng General Clinic for a health check after experiencing breathing difficulties on Tuesday.

She was then moved to Đồng Văn District’s General Hospital for quarantine.

In the middle of March, she had close contact with her brothers who worked in China and completed 14-day quarantine after returning to Việt Nam.

Local authorities identified 177 people having contact with her including 56 people with close contact.

Those people are being quarantined.

As of Friday morning, 83 had their samples taken for testing with 22 results negative.

Sấn Văn Cương, director of the district General Hospital, said the patient was being quarantined and was in a stable condition. She stopped coughing and was breathing normally.

The General Clinic of Phó Bảng Town and the Đồng Văn District hospital have closed and now only deal with emergencies, he said.

The Yên Minh and Mèo Vạc general hospitals will receive patients of Đồng Văn District Hospital.

The provincial steering committee on COVID-19 prevention and control asked district authorities to set up eight more health check-up points at Phó Bảng Town, Phố Là Commune (Đồng Văn District) and Thượng Phùng Commune (Mèo Vạc District).

Local authorities were asked to encourage people to declare their health status and sanitise all places connected to the patient. — VNS