Vietnam confirms 1st Omicron variant infections in community

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) — The first three locally transmitted COVID-19 cases of the Omicron variant in Vietnam have been confirmed in its southern Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam News Agency reported Wednesday.

The three people were all related to another COVID-19 patient who recently entered Vietnam from the United States, according to the HCMC Center for Disease Control.

They had symptoms including sore throat and runny nose before coming to a private clinic for treatment. Their samples, which were sent for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and genome sequencing, were confirmed Tuesday as positive with the new variant, said the disease control center.

The patients are now being quarantined and in stable health conditions, said the report. Competent authorities are identifying their close contacts and taking samples for COVID-19 tests as part of response measures.

Read more: Vietnam reports 17,017 new COVID-19 cases, 1,817,721 in total

Earlier on Tuesday, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health said 70 Omicron variant infections had been detected nationwide, including 30 in the HCMC. However, the patients were all returnees from abroad and have been strictly quarantined upon arrival in Vietnam.

As of Tuesday, Vietnam has confirmed 2,062,128 COVID-19 infections, with over 2 million cases detected in the current wave triggered by the contagious Delta variant since late April 2021, according to its health ministry.