Vietnam: 15,000 people linked to Covid-19 hotspot at Hanoi hospital ‘tested negative’

More than 1,000 healthcare workers and 14,400 others linked to a Covid-19 outbreak at a hospital in Hanoi have tested negative for the coronavirus, the ruling body in Vietnam’s capital said on Thursday. Bach Mai hospital, one of the country’s biggest medical centers, has been under lockdown since March 28 after authorities became concerned that cases there would spiral out of control.

“All 15,461 people tested negative for the virus. The outbreak in Bach Mai has been well controlled after the lockdown,” Hanoi People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Duc Chung said at a meeting. “Another 9,000 people who visited or looked after patients at Bach Mai must be tested by April 12.”

The hospital was declared as the epicenter of the southeast Asian country’s coronavirus outbreak after at least 45 people connected to the hospital tested positive for the coronavirus.

Helped by the mass quarantine of tens of thousands and an aggressive contact-tracing program, Vietnam has recorded 255 cases of the coronavirus, and reported no deaths, Reuters reports. The government said on Thursday Vietnam can produce 5.72 million surgical masks a day to help fight the pandemic.