Two people who were in close contact with the 17th novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patient in Vietnam have been confirmed as Vietnam's 19th and 20th patients, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday afternoon.

N.H.N., a 26-year-old woman in Hanoi who recently returned from a trip to across three European countries including the UK, Italy, and France, was confirmed as the 17th patient in Vietnam on Friday evening.

Her aunt and private driver have now also tested positive for the new coronavirus, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health said on Saturday afternoon.

N.'s aunt L.T.H., 64, is Vietnam's 19th patient while her driver D.D.P., 27, is the 20th.

Both of them have been quarantined for monitoring and treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi, where N. is also receiving treatment.

Earlier on Saturday, a man returning from Daegu, South Korea was confirmed as the country's 18th COVID-19 patient.

The new cases in Hanoi mark the second cluster of infections with signs of community spread in Vietnam, after seven people were infected in Son Loi Commune in the northern province of Vinh Phuc in February.

COVID-19, which first surfaced in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 101,900 people and killed 3,488 globally as of Saturday morning, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.

Vietnam has so far confirmed 20 infections, including 17 Vietnamese, two Chinese nationals and one Vietnamese American.

Sixteen of the patients have recovered and been discharged from the hospital. Friday’s confirmed case was the first reported infection in Vietnam since February 13.

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