Vietnam has confirmed the first death of SARS-CoV-2 since the start of the pandemic after trying hard to avoid fatalities, the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has confirmed.

Transport of patients in critical conditions. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The victim is a 70-year-old man, identified as Patient No.428, who resided in Hoi An city of Quang Nam province that borders Danang.

The man, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus on July 27, was at end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Danang Hospital and a years-long hemodialysis patient.

He was hospitalized on July 9 for hypertension, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and pneumonia.

In recent national consultations for Covid-19 patients, Associate Prof. Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Administration of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health, predicted the worst condition of this patient due to his serious pre-existing diseases.

Before this victim, Vietnam, with a 97-million population, was the most populous country in the world that successfully kept its casualty-zero coronavirus profile amid the global spread of the pandemic for the past seven months.

Vietnam has to date reported 509 infections, of them several are in critical conditions due to advanced ages and pre-existing illnesses.

The country had done all to save the life of a British pilot who underwent more than three months under treatment and was flown home on July 12.

So far, 24 out of 215 countries and territories that Covid-19 is sweeping report no casualties from SARS-CoV-2.