A man returning from Daegu in South Korea has tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Vietnam, raising the country's total confirmed cases to 18.

N.V.T., a 27-year-old from the northern province of Thai Binh, flew to Busan on February 17 before visiting Daegu. He was accompanied by a 24-year-old sister.

Daegu, South Korea' fourth-largest city, is a COVID-19 epicenter that accounts for the majority of confirmed infections in the East Asian country.

The man first developed symptoms of infection including a sore throat and coughing on February 29, while in Daegu.

He and his sister returned to Vietnam on March 4 on Vietjet Air flight VJ981 from Busan to Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

He was immediately placed under quarantine as required for all arrivals from the virus-hit area of South Korea.

The man has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology announced on Saturday afternoon.

The latest infection, Vietnam's second patient confirmed in under 24 hours, has raised the country's total to 18.

Hanoi reported Vietnam's 17th COVID-19 patient, a 26-year-old woman who recently went on a Europe trip to the UK, Italy, and France, on Friday evening.

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 18 infections, including 15 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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