Vietnam’s latest patient of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an employee of a Samsung subsidiary and had direct contact with over 100 people within the one week following the onset of his illness symptoms.

Patient No. 262, a 26-year-old man residing in Ha Loi Village, Me Linh District, Hanoi, was confirmed to have caught COVID-19 on Monday morning.

He came into close contact with a relative who is a COVID-19 patient on March 27 and began having dry coughs on March 31.

The man still went to work in the quality control unit of Samsung Display Vietnam in northern Bac Ninh Province until April 6, said Nguyen Nhat Cam, director of the Hanoi steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control.

He commuted to work on the company’s shuttle buss for employees on a daily basis.

Each bus had a capacity of up to 20 passengers, Cam stated.

Authorities in Bac Ninh Province have shuttered the Samsung unit where the patient worked.

Provincial authorities have investigated and identified 101 people in direct contact with patient No. 262, known as F1 cases, who are residents of different provinces in northern Vietnam, Cam added.

Among them, about 40 people have been quarantined.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over 1.85 million people and killed more than 114,300 globally as of Monday afternoon, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has confirmed 262 COVID-19 cases in total, with 145 having recovered.

The country has yet to record a death from the disease.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!