"Patient 714" is a 42-year-old man in Bac Tu Liem District of Hanoi who works as a public bus operator.

He traveled to Da Nang with his family from July 14 to 17. Two days later, he started running a slight fever and had a sore throat. On August 4, he had his samples taken for Covid-19 testing at Hanoi’s National Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the result turned out positive.

The other three cases are residents in Quang Nam Province that borders Da Nang.

Numbered 715-717 and between 42 to 45 years of age, they had all come into close contact with people who were being treated or taking care of sick people at hospitals in Da Nang and later diagnosed with Covid-19.

With the four added, Hanoi now has three Covid-19 cases and Quang Nam 49, counted from July 25 when the Covid-19 community transmission returned in Vietnam.

Locally transmitted cases spread to two more provinces on Wednesday, Lang Son and Bac Giang in northern Vietnam, with four and two cases each.

So far, the epicenter Da Nang has got 192 cases, HCMC eight. Other cities and provinces with community infections are Dak Lak, Quang Ngai, Dong Nai, Thai Binh and Ha Nam. All cases in other places are linked to Da Nang.

Eight Covid-19 patients have died after contracting the new coronavirus at hospitals in Da Nang. They are aged between 53 and 86, and have suffered from chronic diseases for years.

By Wednesday morning, Vietnam has recorded 717 Covid-19 cases, including 328 active patients after 381 have recovered.

The nation is putting more than 170,000 in quarantine.

Almost 710,000 have died of Covid-19 worldwide.