Scientists at the Medical Genetics Institute (MGI), the HCMC Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in HCMC seek to understand the disease’s characteristics and how it affects people with different genetic makeups and possibly identify genes sensitive to the novel coronavirus, Truong Dinh Kiet, head of MGI, said on Saturday.

Of the 82 Covid-19 cases in the city so far, 65 percent came from abroad with varying degrees of severity and with symptoms ranging from nothing to life-threatening, according to the CDC.

Notably, 62 percent had no symptoms, and the virus’s infection mechanism still has areas that need to be explored, it added.

Twenty recovered patients would have their genes sequenced in the first stage before the project could hope to expand, Nguyen Hoai Nghia of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy said.

Vietnam has had 1,169 Covid-19 cases so far, 70 still active. Thirty five have died, most of them older people with underlying conditions like diabetes and kidney failure.