The lockdown will last until a new announcement.

Chairman of the Dong Van People’s Committee Hoang Van Thinh said that the quarantined area is the entire Ta Kha hamlet, covering 336.5 hectares, with 97 households and 503 members.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vi Xuyen People’s Committee Do Anh Tuan stated that those quarantined at the Thanh Thuy commune Health Station include six healh workers, two policemen, one military medical worker, and people entering Vietnam through the Thanh Thuy International Border Gate. Two nearby households with four members have been also quarantined.

Since 9am of April 22, the whole of Dong Van township in the district of the same name has been also locked down, as an urgent COVID-19 prevention and control measure.

Chairman of the district People’s Committee Hoang Van Thinh said the lockdown will last until a further notice from the Ministry of Health. The township, covering nearly 27,500 ha, is home to 1,629 households with 7,623 people.

Ha Giang recorded its first COVID-19 infection case on April 16 - a H’Mong ethnic minority girl in Dong Van district’s Pho La commune.

The source of her infection is yet to be determined. She has three brothers who all work across the border in China but none have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 that causes the disease.

Health authorities have to date taken test samples from 358 people that had contact with the patient. Of these, 302 samples were negative, with the remainder still waiting for results./.VNA