A British pilot in Ho Chi Minh City who has been receiving treatment for novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since March has retested positive for the virus after more than a week of negative test results, the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical  Diseases said on Thursday.

Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, the hospital’s director, explained that the patient’s throat and nasal swabs tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday, adding that the pilot’s saliva and samples from his bronchus and rectum tested negative for the virus. 

The patient is still being sedated as doctors work to treat the pneumothorax (collapse) of his right lung. 

His condition is critical, Chau said.

The 43-year-old Briton was hospitalized on March 18 and is currently the most critically ill COVID-19 patient in Vietnam. 

Since his diagnosis, his treatment has been a roller-coaster ride, with tests alternating between positive and negative for the virus. 

Prior to Wednesday’s test, his most recent COVID-19 positive samples were taken on April 26. 

The man has been on life support in the form of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for over 30 days and has been given a tube to assist in his breathing.

He has a body mass index (BMI) of 30.1, which falls into the 'moderately obese' category and may be affecting his condition.

The novel coronavirus, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, had infected over 3.91 million people and killed more than 270,700 globally as of Friday morning, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Health.

Vietnam has confirmed 288 COVID-19 cases in total, with 233 having recovered. The country has yet to record a death from the disease.

Ho Chi Minh City has recorded 55 cases of the virus, 53 of whom have made recoveries, according to the municipal Department of Health. 

Ten of those 53 have retested positive for the virus since their discharge from the hospital.

Experts have said such patients are not infectious as the tests simply picked up inactive virus remains in their body.

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