April 1: Vietnam’s Covid-19 case toll climbs to 218

The number of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 in Vietnam has risen to 218 as of April 1 after 11 new cases, all of Vietnamese nationality, were confirmed in the day.

Taking care of a Covid-19 patient at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi. Photo: Zing

Among the confirmed cases announced on April 1, six are Vietnamese nationals coming from abroad, according to the Ministry of Health.

Three others are from Truong Sinh Company that supplies eating and drinking services to Bach Mai Hospital, the largest hospital in Vietnam.

Local media has reported that Truong Sinh Company is also supplier of the same services for the National Hospital of Endocrinology and the Friendship Hospital, all located in Hanoi.

Heads of the two hospitals said that they have quarantined part of their hospitals after more Truong Sinh Co. employees were found positive with the virus.

So far, 27 Truong Sinh employees have tested positive for the virus.

Up to 63 Covid-29 patients have recovered, including 16 in the first phase (before March 6) and 47 in the second phase of the fight against the virus in Vietnam.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son, under the health sector’s regulations, infected people who test negative for the virus twice are regarded as returning to normal health but they are kept at the hospital for further check, Zing reported.

Statistics by the ministry showed that 67,456 people have been taken samples for testing for the virus and 4,671 others are at high risk of infection.

The deputy minister said Vietnam is using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing in the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. The testing and high-precision machining technology help find almost all 100% infected cases, he said.

Invented in the 1980s by Kary Mullis, the Nobel Prize-winning technique, PCR is a DNA amplification technique has been standard practice in labs for 30 years.