How did variant A.23.1 get into Tan Son Nhat airport?

A blocked area in Ho Chi Minh City for COVID-19 room – Photo: HCDC

On the morning of February 15, the special permanent team against the COVID-19 epidemic of the Ministry of Health in Ho Chi Minh City held a briefing on the activities that have been implemented, and at the same time provided analysis and comments on the Epidemic situation Disease in the city.

Vice Minister Nguyen Truong Son, head of the permanent task force, said: “As of the morning of February 15, the disease situation in Ho Chi Minh City has been relatively stable, basically controlled with 35 registered cases.”

To learn more about the epidemiological situation in Ho Chi Minh City, Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City, Permanent Deputy Task Force, stated the analysis: “In the city of Ho Chi Minh since discovery The first case to date has registered 36 positive cases (including 1 patient in Binh Duong) with RT-PCR test, of which 10 cases in Tan Son Nhat airport (8 cases in the loading and unloading equipment and 2 cases of monitoring equipment), 26 positive RT-PCR cases are relatives of the personnel of the loading and unloading team, supervisory team ”.

Follow, continue Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, tThe total number of tests carried out to date is more than 40,000, the results are negative except in 1 case. employee resigned Y mother; 2,939 medical personnel and related hospital patients were sampled and tested negative.

The system for monitoring objects at risk and places at risk was also drastically implemented and at high speed from 13:30 pm 30 on New Years and in 3 days with more than 6,500 test samples were taken in the areas. Bus station, market, motel, worker accommodation. On the morning of February 15, the results were negative (and some samples did not return results).

Before that, on February 9 (i.e. 29 Tet), just after the first meeting of the special permanent team, the plan to take samples for antibody testing from Tan Son Nhat airport staff was implemented and implemented. At 2:00 p.m. that afternoon, about 600 blood samples were taken, the results of the tests were delivered on the night of the same day with the mobilization of all the forces of the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City as well as hospitals and hospitals.

Regarding the identification of the source of the infection, Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan said: “The source of the infection originated for the first time in the period of January 16 to 17 with the highest hypothesis that it originated at the airport on flights. merchandise (do not take passengers and crew not to land, only on the plane, so do not perform isolation and tests)

Based on the results of the epidemiological analysis of variant A.23.1 in the world, among the flights arriving during the mentioned period, there are flights from the Arab region that are probably the source of infiltration from abroad. Loading and unloading equipment got infected while working.

The risk of intrusion from external sources in the Air Base cannot be ruled out, but this assumption is less “.

Previously, from February 6 to 13, Ho Chi Minh City registered 35 cases of COVID-19 in the community, of which 9 cases were in the same work group that loads, unloads, orders and supervises luggage and merchandise in the backyard. Tan Son Nhat (under the VIAGS Company). The remaining 26 cases are relatives, friends … of these airport personnel.

NorthOn February 14, HCDC said that based on initial assessment, the majority of COVID-19 patients in the Tan Son Nhat staff’s group of cases related to the outbreak had no symptoms or had very mild symptoms. Many cases have had a very rapid negative COVID-19 test result after a short period of isolation in the hospital.

HCDC said it will coordinate with treatment hospitals and specialized units, experts to collect data on epidemiology, clinical signs, antigens, antibody test results, gene sequencing … to be able to further evaluate this group of cases if there is enough scientific information and data. .