Twenty-two people have been placed under quarantine after having close contact with a man and his girlfriend, who previously traveled a COVID-19 ‘epicenter’ in the northern Vietnamese province of Vinh Phuc to the woman’s hometown in northern La Chau Province.

According to the Lai Chau Department of Health, Nguyen Van T., 36, and his girlfriend, 27-year-old Lo Thi P., had stayed in T.’s hometown in Son Loi Commune, Vinh Phuc Province.

Vinh Phuc is considered the epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus in Vietnam as 11 out of the country’s 16 patients are in the province.

Half of Vinh Phuc’s COVID-19 patients reside in Son Loi Commune, which has a population of 10,600.

Authorities have sealed off Son Loi Commune to control the epidemic.

On Thursday afternoon, T. and P. caught a coach to the latter’s home in Tam Duong District, Lai Chau, before having dinner with the woman’s family members and neighbors.

The couple was quarantined at a medical center in Tam Duong on Friday.

T. was allowed to continue his isolation in Son Loi Commune following his request.

Twelve people who are family and neighbors of P. and 10 others who were on the coach with the couple have also been placed under quarantine at their houses.

The vehicle has been thoroughly sterilized.

The COVID-19 has killed 1,669 people and infected nearly 69,200 globally since it first hit the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has spread across mainland China and to 31 other countries and regions, according to a Reuters report.

Vietnam has so far confirmed 16 cases of the viral infection, including 13 Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

Among them, seven have fully recovered. They were all treated for free.

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