The Saigon Times

The Vietnam Airlines quarantine center, where the 1,342nd Covid-19 patient stayed between November 14 and 18, 2020 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – HCMC prosecutors on January 11 approved the Investigative Police Agency’s decision to file charges against Duong Van Hau, a flight attendant of Vietnam Airlines, for causing Covid-19 community transmission.

The 28-year-old, who was the country’s 1,342nd Covid-19 patient, has been banned from leaving his place of residence.

According to the initial investigation, Hau seriously violated regulations during his mandatory quarantine at the Vietnam Airlines quarantine center and at home, causing community spread in HCMC after the city went nearly three months without any locally transmitted case.

The flight attendant returned to the city from Japan in mid-November 2020 and was put under quarantine at the Vietnam Airlines quarantine center from November 14 to 18. During this time, he came into close contact with another flight attendant, who later emerged as the 1,325th case.

During his self-isolation period, he had close contact with three people at his home, including a 32-year-old English teacher, who later became the 1,347th case. He also went out during this time.

Two persons—a one-year-old boy and a 28-year-old student—who had close contact with the teacher, became the 1,348th and 1,349th patients, respectively.

All of the patients have recovered from the disease.

The local authorities performed Covid-19 tests on 3,263 people related to these cases. All of them tested negative for Covid-19.

Nguyen Sy Quang, deputy director of the HCMC Police, said HCMC and Vietnam as a whole have tried their best to contain Covid-19, while the pandemic is still raging elsewhere around the world. The violations of Hau and other individuals showed their lack of awareness and responsibility in the implementation of quarantine regulations, causing serious consequences.