A further seven coronavirus cases, including a Costa Rican, returning from overseas have been diagnosed with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Ministry of Health said in its coronavirus update at 18.00hrs on January 28. 

Massive COVID-19 testing has been carried out after fresh cases were detected
in Hai Duong and Quang Ninh.

The Costa Rican expert, 28, entered Vietnam from the United States on board the flight CX799 on January 24. He tested positive and was transferred to HCM City’s Cu Chi field hospital for medical observation and treatment.

The remaining six patients are Vietnamese citizens who also returned to the homeland from the US, transiting through the Republic of Korea, on January 13.

They tested positive on January 27 and were taken to Da Nang Lung Diseases Hospital in central Vietnam.

All the newly detected patients had been quarantined upon their arrival, therefore posing no risk to the community, said the Ministry of Health.

Earlier, the same day, the ministry confirmed 84 locally transmitted cases, including 73 in Hai Duong province, and 11 in Quang Ninh province.

The emergence of the coronavirus in Hai Duong and Quang Ninh ended a 55-day streak without a single new locally transmitted case in Vietnam.