A US expert is one of the two new COVID-19 patients announced by the Ministry of Health on January 26. 

Checking samples for COVID-19 testing in the lab. (Illustrative image)

The 58-year-old American citizen entered Vietnam from Dubai, the Arab United Emirates, on January 9. He was quarantined as soon as the plane he boarded landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

He first tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus on January 10, but the second test on January 23 proved he had contracted the virus.

He was immediately transferred to HCM City’s Cu Chi field hospital for medical observation and treatment.

The other patient, a 49-year-old Vietnamese woman, returned to the homeland from Hong Kong on January 22.

She tested positive on January 23 and was also placed in quarantine at Cu Chi field hospital.

The two new infections brought the country’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 1,551 as of 18.00hrs on January 26, including 858 imported cases returning from epidemic hit countries globally.

The same day, five COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease.

To date 1,430 out of 1551 COVID-a91 cases have been discharged from hospital. The number of deaths caused by the virus and related illnesses remains at 35.