Vietnam’s number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients climbed to 179 on Sunday morning after the Ministry of Health reported five new cases, four of which are linked to Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi.

Patients No. 175 to 178 are all employees of Truong Sinh Company, a catering service provider contracted by Bach Mai Hospital.

They include a 57-year-old man and three women, aged 38, 49, and 44.

The 44-year-old woman is being treated in the northern province of Thai Nguyen, while the other three receive treatment in Hanoi.

Bach Mai, a special-grade and largest general hospital in Vietnam, has so far recorded 16 COVID-19 patients, including health workers, patients, patients’ visitors, and catering staff.

The hospital has stopped receiving new patients from Saturday and isolated about 1,300 health workers together with 800 patients.

The military has disinfected the entire premises of the infirmary.

The Ministry of Health has advised all people who came to Bach Mai Hospital from March 10 to 27 to contact local authorities and fill out online health declaration forms.

Patient No. 179 is a 62-year-old Hanoi resident who returned to Vietnam from abroad on March 18.

Upon his arrival, he was brought to a quarantine camp in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 662,500 people and killed more than 30,800 globally as of Sunday morning, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has announced 174 COVID-19 patients so far, with 21 having been discharged from the hospital by Saturday.

No fatality related to the disease has been reported in the country to date.

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