A married Vietnamese couple have tested positive for the novel coronavirus after entering Vietnam illegally from Cambodia.
D.D.Q., 58, and his wife – 52-year-old T.T.B. – traveled from Phnom Penh to the Mekong Delta province of An Giang via the Long Binh Border Gate on Tuesday.
The two could not present necessary documents required for entry into Vietnam and asked on-duty border guard officers for permission to be quarantined in the country.
They were later brought to a quarantine camp in An Phu District, An Giang Province.
Competent authorities conducted a rapid COVID-19 test on the couple which came back positive for the novel coronavirus, an official from the provincial Department of Health confirmed on Thursday.
A total of 16 direct contacts have already been identified and quarantined.
Over 130 people who had been in contact with these 16 individuals have been told to home-quarantine.
An official from the steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control in An Phu District confirmed that most of the direct contacts are border guard officers and other individuals who had been charged with escorting the two border jumpers to the quarantine facility.
The quarantine facility in An Phu District, An Giang Province, Vietnam. Photo: Buu Dau / Tuoi Tre
Although all of the contacts had been wearing protective clothing and maintained a safe distance from the couple, they are still required to undergo a quarantine period as per regulations.
The Ministry of Health had confirmed the married couple as the country’s COVID-19 patients No. 2,746 and 2,747 on Thursday evening.
They previously headed to Phnom Penh in March 2020 to work and decided to return to Vietnam due to recent developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia.
As of Friday morning, the 16 people who came into direct contact with the patients had tested negative for the novel coronavirus.
Vietnam has documented 2,758 COVID-19 cases so far, with 2,445 recoveries and 35 deaths.
Localities in southwest Vietnam have been taking certain measures to tighten border management and security in a bid to minimize risk of COVID-19 spread as the pandemic situation in Cambodia becomes increasingly complicated.
