The Ministry of Health on January 18 confirmed an additional two coronavirus patients, including a Costa Rican, who came to Vietnam to work. 

The Costa Rican expert, 59, arrived in Vietnam on flight KE394 from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. He was quarantined and sampled for COVID-19 testing upon his arrival at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on January 16.

The result of the test on January 17 showed he had carried the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

He was then transferred to the Hanoi-based Hospital of Tropical Diseases for medical observation and treatment.

The other patient, a 28-year-old Vietnamese man, tested positive after returning to the country from the United States.

The man was said to transit through the Republic of Korea and land at Da Nang International Airport in central Vietnam on January 13.

He is now receiving treatment at the Restricted Area designated for COVID-19 patients at Da Nang Lung Diseases Hospital.

As of 18.00hrs on January 18 Vietnam has recorded a total of 1,539 COVID-19 patients, including 846 imported cases returning from coronavirus hit countries.

The same day, 22 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease. They raised the total number of recoveries to 1,402.

Of the remaining cases, 32 patients have tested negative at least once.

The number of deaths caused by COVID-19 and related illnesses in Vietnam remains at 35, according to the Ministry of Health.