Vietnam’s tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 558 cases on Saturday morning as 12 local infections linked to the central city of Da Nang, including a two-year-old boy, were confirmed by the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The patients are aged between two and 78 years old.

Three of the new cases are regular patients at Da Nang Hospital, the largest infection cluster in the central city to date.

One of them is a 72-year-old woman and the others are men aged 25 and 33.

Eight other cases either are relatives of patients being treated at the infirmary or came into close contact with positive cases, including a two-year-old boy who was in contact with patient No. 509, a medical worker at Cam Le Health Center in the namesake district.

The remaining patient is a 29-year-old man from Hoa Vang District with unclear epidemiological information.

The 12 new cases brought the total number of local infections in Vietnam since July 25 — when the Southeast Asian country recorded its first community transmission after 99 days — to 116.

All of the 116 local transmissions are linked to Da Nang, which is the Southeast Asian country's outbreak epicenter now.

On Friday, Vietnam recorded its first-ever virus-related deaths, two men aged 61 and 70 who both had many serious underlying health conditions.

As many as 373 COVID-19 patients in Vietnam have recovered while 183 cases are still in treatment, including 13 patients who are severely ill.

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