Vietnam announced five more cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Tuesday night, three of them confirmed in Ho Chi Minh City.

The country’s patient count has thus risen to 66, with 16 having fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital by February 26, according to the Ministry of Health.

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Hanoi said on Tuesday that it had tested two patients and both were positive.

Patient No. 62 is a 18-year-old man, residing in Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi.

He is an oversease Vietnamese students returning from the UK on board a Vietnam Airlines flight that landed at Van Don International Airport, located in the northern province of Quang Ninh, on Monday.  

The provincial Center for Disease Control checked the passengers aboard the flight and found him positive.

The patient and his close contacts were sent to the Uong Bi Vietnam-Sweden Hospital in the same province.

His diagnosis was later confirmed by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.  

The patient is isolated at the hospital in stable health.

Patient No. 63 is a 20-year-old woman, living at C2 Mandarin Garden Apartment Complex, Hoang Minh Giam Street, Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.

She is also an overseas Vietnamese student in the UK coming home on board flight TG564 that touched down at Noi Bai International Airport in the capital on Sunday.

The municipal Center for Disease Control screened the flight and she tested positive for the virus.

The patient and her close contacts were transferred to the Dong Anh branch of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi.

Her test result was then confirmed by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.   

She is quarantined at the hospital in stable health.

The Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed the other three positive cases.

Patient No. 64 is a 36-year-old woman in Ward 2, District 8, Ho Chi Minh City.

She has a history of hepatitis B virus infection.

She traveled with her boyfriend from Switzerland to Dubai, where she took flight EK392 that landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on March 12.

Her boyfriend flew to Hong Kong from Dubai.

The woman was taken to a quarantine camp in District 8, Ho Chi Minh City on Monday.

She is now isolated at a makeshift hospital in Cu Chi District, with no symptoms.

Her test returned positive at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases on Tuesday morning. The Pasteur Institute confirmed the test later the same day.

Patient No. 65 is a 28-year-old woman, whose address is Ward 7, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City.

She works for the branch of TOTO Vietnam Company Limited at 1A Pham Ngoc Thach, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1. She has no pre-existing conditions.

She worked and had close contact with patient No. 45 and patient No. 48 on March 7 and March 10.

The latter two patients were linked to patient No. 34, a Vietnamese woman returning from the U.S. on a flight with transit time in Qatar and South Korea.

Patient No. 65 felt tired and skipped work on March 10 morning. On March 11, the company branch ceased operations following the confirmation of patient No. 34 and she self-isolated at home.

She has no fever, coughing, or shortness of breath and has been quarantined at the makeshift hospital in Cu Chi District.

The Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases found her sample positive on Tuesday morning and the Pasteur Institute confirmed it later the same day.

Patient No. 66 is a 21-year-old woman, who is a resident of Park View Apartment Building at 107 Nguyen Duc Canh Street, Phu My Hung, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.

On March 14, she traveled to Vietnam from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the U.S. via Toronto, Canada and Taiwan, where she caught a connecting flight, BR395 operated by Eva Air, that touched down in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday. Her seat was 6G.

Upon entry, she displayed no symptoms but her sample was still taken on Monday.

The Pasteur Institute announced her test was positive.

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