Medical workers collect samples from people in Da Nang for Covid-19 tests,
August 3, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong.

Seven of them are residents in Da Nang City and three live in the neighboring Quang Nam Province.

Those in Quang Nam, aged 35-67, are numbered 643-645. One of them tested positive for the novel coronavirus when staying at the Department of Internal Medicine - Neurology – Hematology of Da Nang Hospital as a patient. The other two had contact with another patient at the hospital who was later diagnosed with Covid-19.

Patients 646-652 reside in Da Nang. They are aged between 30 and 68.

One of them is a medical worker at the Da Nang Hospital and five are patients there.

The remaining one gets infected after having contact with another Covid-19 patient at the hospital. This person has already been quarantined at a college dormitory in Lien Chieu District of Da Nang.

Since July 25 when community infections returned to Vietnam after more than three months, Da Nang has become the epicenter with 142 cases so far, followed by Quang Nam with 44 cases.

HCMC has now recorded eight, Quang Ngai Province in the central region and Dak Lak in the Central Highlands get three each. Hanoi has reported two cases, while northern Thai Binh and Ha Nam provinces, as well as Dong Nai Province that neighbors HCMC one each.

Six Covid-19 patients have died since Friday. They were aged between 53 and 86, and all suffered pre-existing chronic diseases. Another 13 patients are in critical condition.

Nationwide, more than 133,000 people are in quarantine at present.

Around 696,000 have died of Covid-19 globally.