What should you do If you are a close contact of COVID-19

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If you have close contact with someone infected with Covid-19, promptly notify the community and take quarantine measures as soon as possible.

Covid-19 is an acute pneumonia caused by a new virus called SARS-CoV-2, which can be spread from person to person. The most common symptoms of a new strain coronavirus are fever, dry cough, and difficulty breathing. You will need to be isolated and monitored closely when in close contact with someone infected with Covid-19.

Since the Covid-19 case number 17 announced on March 7, 2020, you can see that the number of infections in Vietnam continues to increase rapidly due to the spread of disease from person to person. The risk of you coming into close contact with someone infected with Covid-19 can occur anywhere, even in your own… home!

Know the risk of contact with a Covid-19 infection

You may find yourself at high risk of contact with someone infected with Covid-19 in the following situations:

• Care of a Covid-19 infected person

• Living in the same house as a Covid-19 infected person

• Exposure to within 2 meters of an infected person with Covid-19 for approximately 10 minutes

• Direct contact with Covid-19 infected person's secretions (drops when coughing, hugging, kissing, sharing personal hygiene tools ...)

Factors that may increase your risk of getting Covid-19 worse include: age 60 or older, are pregnant or have an underlying medical condition.

If you don't have close contact with someone infected with the new strain of corona virus, your chance of getting infected is lower. In this case, you can still continue out to participate in normal activities. If you suspect that you may have been infected with a Covid-19 patient, you should keep at home, monitor for 14 days and avoid contact with everyone around you.

If you are close contact with Covid-19 infected person

If you experience fever, cough, or trouble breathing even if symptoms are very mild, you are more likely to have SARS-CoV-2 virus. Between 2 and 14 days after exposure to a Covid-19 infection to the onset of illness, the patient may develop a fever and damage the respiratory tract. Severe cases can cause pneumonia or many other complications that cause death, especially in cases with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease ...

When you find that you have been in close contact with a Covid-19 infected person, you should do your own home isolation. At the same time, you should contact the phone number provided by the Ministry of Health for advice on appropriate handling.

The Ministry of Health publishes 2 hotline phone numbers providing information about acute respiratory infections caused by nCoV 2019:  1900 3228  and  1900 9095 .

You can also contact the hotlines of hospitals that provide quarantine and monitoring facilities for suspected and infected nCoV patients:

• Hospital E | Hanoi:  091 216 8887
• Bach Mai Hospital | Hanoi:  096 985 1616
• Vinmec Hanoi Hospital | Hanoi:  093 447 2768
• Children's Central Hospital | Hanoi:  037 288 4712
• Hanoi Green Pon Hospital | Hanoi:  090 413 8502
• Central Lung Hospital | Hanoi:  096 794 1616
• Central Tropical Hospital | Hanoi:  096 924 1616
• Thai Binh Provincial Hospital | Thai Binh:  098 950 6515
• Lang Son Provincial Hospital | Lang Son:  039 680 2226
• Uong Bi Vietnam - Sweden Hospital | Quang Ninh:  096 668 1313
• Thai Nguyen Central General Hospital | Thai Nguyen:  091 339 4495
• Hue Central Hospital | Hue:  096 530 1212
• Danang Hospital | Da Nang:  090 358 3881
• Khanh Hoa Provincial Hospital | Khanh Hoa:  096 537 1515
• Khanh Hoa Tropical Hospital | Khanh Hoa:  091 346 4257
• Can Tho Central General Hospital | Can Tho:  090 773 6736
• Dong Nai Province General Hospital | Dong Nai:  081 963 4807
• Children's Hospital 1 | Ho Chi Minh City:  091 311 7965
• Children's Hospital 2 | Ho Chi Minh City:  079 842 9841
• Cho Ray Hospital | Ho Chi Minh City:  096 987 1010
• City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. HCM | Ho Chi Minh City:  096 734 1010

You can also contact the hotlines of your local medical facility directly for prompt assistance on what to do. 

List of hospitals receiving and quarantine treatment for suspected and infected patients with nCoV in Hanoi

Note when you suspect the possibility of Covid-19 infection

When you suspect that you may be spreading an infection from someone infected with Covid-19, take the following precautions to protect yourself and the community's health:

1. You need to wear a mask regularly

Wearing a mask is essential for both infected and uninfected individuals to prevent the new coronavirus. The most important goal of wearing a mask is to protect others. If you get sick yourself, a mask will help prevent secretions from coming out rather than protect yourself from outside influences.

You also need to pay attention to using the mask properly in terms of wearing, removing, editing as well as choosing the right type to optimize to prevent infection.

In addition to masks, you should also pay attention to cover your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, do not share personal utensils or eating utensils, wash your hands often with soap or antiseptic solution.

2. You should always be honest when making a report

One of the most important and recommended actions when in close contact with a Covid-19 infected person is the honesty of making a report. Report symptoms of Covid-19 infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, and share your travel schedule with your healthcare provider. You should report as soon as possible even if symptoms are mild or unclear.

We need a greater sense of truth in reporting truthfully to health workers. If you are in contact with someone infected with Covid-19, do not hesitate to notify anyone who has contact with you.

After learning that they have been in close contact with the Covid-19 case, many people easily fall into psychological instability and fear of stigma and tend to avoid isolation. In fact, dishonest behavior or statements will not only hurt you but also harm others. During an outbreak, honest reporting is essential to protect everyone around, as well as to support the state in disease prevention.

3. You will be categorized as quarantine

When you suspect the possibility of Covid-19 infection, you need to know how to classify the quarantine in order to promptly implement the necessary quarantine measures. If the person infected with Covid-19 is F0 then those who are in close contact with F0 are F1 (suspects). Those exposed to F1 were F2, similar to those exposed to F2 was F3.

Each category F has different recommendations for epidemic quarantine, and must notify other Fs of their status.

Principles of epidemic prevention. Photo: Thanh Nien Newspaper

If you know how to act properly when you discover that you have been in close contact with someone infected with Covid-19, you will remain calm and calm to deal with the worst possible situations. Do what you should do quickly to prevent Covid-19 and avoid putting pressure on an infected person. After all, any of us can unintentionally become F0 so never discriminate against a Covid-19 infection.

Articles of Dr.Binh Tele_Clinic are for reference only, not a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment.