Vietnam recorded a new case of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a village near the country’s border with China on Thursday morning.

A 16-year-old ethnic Hmong Vietnamese girl living in a remote village in Dong Van District in the northern province of Ha Giang has become the country’s 268th COVID-19 patient.

This is the first COVID-19 case ever recorded in Ha Giang Province.

Her village is located near the Vietnam-China border.

She has three older brothers who are working in China.

The girl began developing a fever, cough, and shortness of breath on April 7 and was admitted to Dong Van District General Hospital.

She later tested positive for COVID-19 and is being quarantined and treated at the infirmary.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has infected over two million people and killed more than 134,600 globally as of Thursday morning, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Vietnam has confirmed 268 COVID-19 cases in total, with 171 having recovered.

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

The Vietnamese government on Wednesday decided to extend the social distancing period in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and nine other provinces by another week after April 15.

These provinces and cities are classified as “high-risk” localities, which are most susceptible to a COVID-19 outbreak.

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