COVID-19 claims another life as national fatality count climbs to 46

The Treatment Subcommittee under the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control confirmed the death of another person caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on May 27 in Hanoi, increasing the nation’s overall fatality count to 46.

The latest patient is an 82-year-old man who had been suffering from poor health after being involved in a traffic accident four years ago that left him with broken ribs and a broken collarbone. In addition, he had also been suffering from liver abscess for the past two years and resided in an area hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Symptoms were initially detected on May 11 when the patient had a high fever and a persistent cough. Three days later he was showing signs of shortness of breath, leading him to visit Thuan Thanh District Medical Center for a quick COVID-19 test.

He was later transferred to Bac Ninh Provincial General Hospital after his test result came back positive for the SARS-CoV-2-virus.

Following this, the patient was transferred to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Dong Anh district of Hanoi on May 15, after being diagnosed with septic shock and pneumonia caused by the SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Six days later, the Professional Council of the Ministry of Health said that the patient was in a very serious condition and had been infected with a multidrug-resistant strain of bacteria.

The patient subsequently died on the evening of May 26, with the diagnosis of death being due to septic shock, pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2, complications of progressive respiratory failure, and sepsis typically found in elderly patients.