As of Saturday morning, Vietnam has reported the third death of the novel coronavirus since the pandemic broke out in the country in late January.

An ambulance at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi. Photo: VnExpress

A 68-year-old women, who is identified Patient No.499, died on August 1 morning due to leukemia, severe pneumonia, and Covid-19, according to Prof. Nguyen Gia Binh, head of the Vietnam National Association of Emergency, Intensive Care Medicine, and Clinical Toxicology.

On Friday night, the patient was in emergency and received the treatment by leading health professionals, but she passed away in the state of myeloablation, respiratory failure, and circulatory failure.

The second death is a 61-year-old man in Danang, designated as Patient No.437. He died of Covid-19 and septic shock caused by pathological severity.

The man is a years-long patient of kidney failure and hemodialysis, high blood pressure, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and gout in Danang Hospital before he was confirmed to be positive with SARS-CoV-2 on July 27, according Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son.

He was hospitalized on June 23 when his renal disease was at the end stage .

On July 9, the patient developed a persistently high fever. On July 17, he suffered respiratory failure and tested positive for the novel coronavirus on July 27. On July 29, the man was connected to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Leading cardiologist Nguyen Quang Tuan, director of Bach Mai Hospital, the largest hospital in Vietnam, had flown to Danang to support the emergency but the patient died due to his critical condition.

Meanwhile, the first death reported on July 31 was a 70-year-old man (Patient No.428) who suffered years-long kidney failure, hemodialysis, high blood pressure, and heart failure.

The casualties end months-long non-coronavirus death streak in Vietnam. The country had wiped out SARS-CoV-2 for more than three months before the virus reappeared in the country a week ago.

Prof. Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the MOH’s Administration of Medical Examination and Treatment, said in previous national consultations that some Covid-19 patients in Vietnam with severe pre-existing diseases were in critical conditions.