A British pilot in Ho Chi Minh City who has been receiving treatment for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since March has retested positive for the virus after more than a week of negative test results, the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases said on Thursday.
Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, the hospital’s director, explained that the patient’s throat and nasal swabs tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, adding that the pilot’s saliva and samples from his bronchus and rectum tested negative for the virus.
The patient is still being sedated as doctors work to treat the pneumothorax (collapse) of his right lung. His condition is critical, Chau said.
The 43-year-old Briton was hospitalized on March 18 and is currently the most critically ill COVID-19 patient in Vietnam.
Since his diagnosis, his treatment has been a roller-coaster ride, with tests alternating between positive and negative for the virus.
Prior to Wednesday’s test, his most recent COVID-19 positive samples were taken on April 26.
The man has been on life support in the form of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for over 30 days and has been given a tube to assist in his breathing.
He has a body mass index (BMI) of 30.1, which falls into the ‘moderately obese’ category and may be affecting his condition. Tuoi Tre News reported.
Vietnam has not recorded any new Covid-19 infections in the community for 22 straight days. the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control said Friday morning, the number of cases still stands at 288.
Yesterday, the country reported 17 new imported coronavirus cases in biggest single-day rise. All 17 new patients are Vietnamese returnees and being quarantined on arrival. Of the new cases, six are male and 11 female. One of the patients is a newborn boy and the rest are between 20 and 58 years of age.
Related: Vietnam goes 22 consecutive days without new local Covid-19 infections
According to a report by VNExpress, the new patients are among 297 Vietnamese repatriated from the UAE on Vietnam Airlines flight VN0088 on Sunday. The flight landed at Can Tho Airport in the Mekong Delta and all passengers were quarantined at a university dorm in the nearby Bac Lieu Province.
The 17 infected are now treated at the Bac Lieu General Hospital. Crew members on the flight have also been quarantined.
Vietnam News Agency reported that among the total, 148 are imported cases, and they were put in quarantine upon their arrival in the country.
So far, 233 patients have recovered from the coronavirus disease.
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