At noon on April 30, Mr. Hoang Duc Hanh, Deputy Director of Hanoi’s Department of Health, announced two suspected COVID-19 cases at Thang Long Industrial Park, Dong Anh district, Hanoi. Their test results are still pending confirmation.
Specifically, N.T.H.N., born in 1996, is a worker at Panasonic in Thang Long Industrial Park, and N.D.D., born in 1994, is also a worker at the same park.
“This morning, Hanoi’s People’s Committee conducted inspections at Thang Long Industrial Park,” Mr. Hanh said.
These two individuals are close contacts (F1) of patient 2911, who was announced by the Ministry of Health earlier today. Patient 2911 is a 28-year-old man from Viet Hung commune, Dong Anh district. On April 22, he attended a gathering with patient 2899, a young man from Ha Nam who recently returned from Japan.
Panasonic employs about 2,800 workers. Mr. Khong Minh Tuan, Deputy Director of Hanoi CDC, requested that the two companies in Thang Long Industrial Park with workers testing positive for the first time compile lists of residents, workers, and their relatives, including phone numbers.
Workers must be urgently informed to self-isolate at home until further test results are available for these two cases, and be ready for isolation and contact tracing.
Mr. Tuan emphasized, “Without a list of the 2,800 workers, controlling the outbreak will be extremely difficult.”
At the meeting, Mr. Chu Xuan Dung, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee, stressed that Dong Anh district and Thang Long Industrial Park need specific plans if the two F1 cases of patient 2911 become confirmed cases.
Mr. Dung said, “Test results will be available in a few hours, but the two F1 cases testing positive initially have a high chance of being confirmed positive. Therefore, Dong Anh district, Thang Long Industrial Park, and the two companies must quickly trace all related contacts. Assuming the two F1 cases become confirmed, all F1 contacts must be traced by 2 p.m. today, tracing of F2 contacts must be completed by 5 p.m.”
He stressed the need for strict control measures. With thousands of workers at the industrial park, lack of control poses a serious risk. F1 cases must be immediately moved to centralized quarantine. F2 contacts should be monitored closely at home with coordination from local authorities and health facilities.
Mr. Dung also requested that the two companies require workers to complete health declarations dating back to April 22.
