A total of eight coronavirus cases were confirmed in Vietnam on Wednesday morning, all traced back to four hospitals in Da Nang, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Five of them took care of their family members at Da Nang Hospital, to which at least 21 coronavirus patients have been linked as of now.

The other three were tracked to Da Nang Hospital for Lung Diseases, Da Nang C Hospital, where other cases had been traced back to, and Da Nang Transportation Hospital.  

Their ages range from 19 to 68.

Vietnam has logged 30 community-based cases since Saturday last week, ending a streak of 99 days without a single local transmission, according to a Tuoi Tre News count.

Twenty-six of the patients, including three critical cases, are in Da Nang, three in Quang Nam, and one in Quang Ngai Province. Those in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai are all linked to the Da Nang cases.

Authorities have locked down Da Nang Hospital, Da Nang C Hospital, and Da Nang Orthopedics and Rehabilitation Hospital, as infected patients had been there.

They are conducting extensive contact tracing to suppress the outbreak.

Da Nang started enforcing enhanced social distancing across the city on Tuesday that will be in effect for at least 15 days.

Officials have banned public gatherings of more than two people, shut down non-essential services, required citizens to wear face masks whenever outdoors, and asked them not to leave their home unless for essential trips while maintaining a two-meter distance in social interactions.

Flights to and from the beach city started to be suspended for 15 days on Tuesday.  

Health workers will test roughly 10,000 people in Da Nang for COVID-19, a source told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Vietnam has registered 446 coronavirus patients as of Wednesday morning, with 276 imported cases quarantined upon arrival, according to the health ministry.

The Southeast Asian nation has confirmed 369 recoveries and zero fatalities to date.

Over 16,000 people who came in close contact with patients or entered Vietnam from virus-hit regions are being quarantined in the country at the time of writing.

Vietnamese borders have been closed to foreigners since March but foreign experts and skilled workers are allowed entry, subject to government approval and compulsory quarantine on arrival.

The government has sent planes to other nations to bring back Vietnamese citizens, also quarantined upon landing.

Officials in Da Nang, Quang Nam, as well as other provinces and cities have detected dozens of Chinese unlawfully entering Vietnam and staying in local lodging facilities this month.

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