A man who was in close contact with an infected person was confirmed to catch the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Friday, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Health.

The 25-year-old patient lives in Ward 7, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, the ministry said in a statement.

He is Vietnam’s 45th COVID-19 patient.

He had dinner with patient No. 34 and her husband in Binh Thuan Province, located in south-central Vietnam, on March 3.

He returned to Ho Chi Minh City in a personal vehicle with three other people on March 4.

On March 10, the man self-isolated at home when hearing news of patient No. 34 being infected with the virus.

He showed symptoms of a stuffy nose and sore throat on March 12 so he was sent to a quarantine camp in Tan Binh District, before being transferred to a makeshift hospital in Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City.  

His samples were tested by the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday and Friday, all returning positive.

He is in stable health now.

Authorities are tracing those in contact with patient No. 45 for quarantine.

A total of nine people in Binh Thuan have been diagnosed with COVID-19 after having close contact with patient No. 34, a 51-year-old Vietnamese woman.

Patient No. 34 was confirmed as Vietnam’s 34th COVID-19 patient on Tuesday.

She left Vietnam for the U.S. on February 22 and came back to the Southeast Asian country on March 2.

She transited Incheon International Airport near Seoul, South Korea, and Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar during her respective departure and return flight trips.

Her return flight landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of March 2.

The woman was admitted to the Binh Thuan General Hospital on Tuesday morning and tested positive for the novel coronavirus there.

She is currently quarantined and treated at the hospital.

Vietnam has confirmed 45 infections so far, 16 of them having fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital by February 26.

The other patients are being treated, with no fatality having been reported to date.

Patient No. 17, a 26-year-old Vietnamese woman, was diagnosed on Friday last week after the country had reported no infection since February 13.

The woman arrived in Hanoi on March 2 on board a flight carrying 216 passengers and crew members from London.

At least a dozen infected people, mostly Britons, have been linked to this woman, who had visited Milan and Paris before entering Vietnam.

Vietnamese officials are tracking the passengers and have isolated those involved, including the crew members.

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