On the morning of July 27, the Department of Health of Quang Ngai Province, in coordination with the Quang Ngai Provincial Police, directly visited the home of the owner of the sleeper bus company Thanh Hường, requesting the bus company to provide the list of passengers who traveled with Patient 419.
“Initially, the bus company cooperated with the authorities, but this company claimed that their bus is ‘unregistered’ and therefore did not keep a passenger list as required. This causes significant difficulties in verifying the passengers who traveled with Patient 419,” a representative of the Department of Health reported.
Although the list of passengers was not provided, authorities have initially identified that 6 people from Thanh Hường bus company had direct contact with Patient 419 (F1), including 4 drivers and staff from 2 buses 76B-009.59 and 76B-010.24; 4 drivers from shuttle buses, including 76B-002.37, 76A-049.89 in Quang Ngai and 76B-005.53 and 43B-024.26 in Da Nang; and 2 owners of the bus. “Among these, there is currently 1 driver from the bus company showing symptoms of sneezing and a runny nose,” a source confirmed.
“We are currently compiling a dossier to handle the non-cooperation behavior of Thanh Hường bus company with the authorities,” a leader of the Quang Ngai Provincial Police said.
According to many people who have traveled on Thanh Hường bus, the claim that the bus is ‘unregistered’ and therefore does not keep a list of passengers is not truthful. “Because before traveling, people must call to book seats, purchase tickets, and arrange a pickup location for the bus. Very few cases are picked up along the way (as most travel around 4 AM), so the bus company must have kept a list of passengers’ names and phone numbers,” said Mr. Truong Nghia, a passenger who has traveled on Thanh Hường bus many times.
According to an announcement from the Quang Ngai Center for Disease Control, anyone who traveled on Thanh Hường bus on the following trips: Around 3 AM on July 14, 2020 (bus 76B 00959); afternoon on July 17, 2020 (bus 76B 01024); around 3 AM on July 20, 2020 (bus 76B 00959) should contact the nearest healthcare facility or the Quang Ngai Center for Disease Control (0914021022) for urgent medical assistance.
As reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, on the afternoon of July 26, the Ministry of Health announced the 419th Covid-19 case. The patient is a 17-year-old male residing in Quang Phu Ward, Quang Ngai City. Previously, this patient boarded Thanh Hường bus to visit his brother at the Da Nang Orthopedic Hospital. After that, he boarded the Thanh Hường sleeper bus, which stopped by Da Nang C Hospital to pick up 4 passengers returning to Quang Ngai.