The Ministry of Health said Friday evening that the seven patients consisted of two female and five male Vietnamese and are aged from six to 52.

They had come aboard a Vietnam Airlines flight from Sweden and Finland on June 6, and been quarantined at the Vocational High Tech College in Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi. Five are from Hanoi, one from the northern province of Quang Ninh and one from the central province of Nghe An.

The day after their arrival, on June 7, they had tested negative but in a second test on Thursday the results were positive. All are being treated at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Also on Friday "Patient 322", a 31-year-old man, recovered at the Cu Chi field hospital in HCMC, testing negative four times for the virus.

Vietnam has gone 64 days without community transmission.

Of the 349 who have contracted the disease so far, 23 are now being treated and are stable. Four have tested negative twice but 19 are still positive. The most critically ill, "Patient 91", a British pilot, is making good recovery after developing other complications despite being cured of Covid-19. He is able to breathe by himself, and a lung transplant considered for him is no longer necessary following a slow recovery.

Vietnam continues to bring back its nationals from overseas, so far repatriating over 8,000 Vietnamese.

More than 6,000 people are in quarantine at the moment, 89 in hospitals, 5,000 in quarantine centers and the rest at home.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected over 210 countries and territories, with more than 445,000 deaths reported.