Vietnam reported five new cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while 16 patients were discharged from a hospital free of the virus on Saturday.

All of the new patients were registered in the central city of Da Nang, which is the country’s outbreak epicenter at the moment with 374 local infections reported since July 25.

They include a man who was in close contact with a previous patient, three female sellers at Tan Lap and Sieu Thi markets in Thanh Khe District, and a male member of the management board of Lau Den market in the same district.

They are between 38 and 69 years old.

All five patients are quarantined and treated at a field hospital in Hoa Vang District, Da Nang.

On Saturday afternoon, 16 COVID-19 patients, aged 21 to 85, were also discharged from the field hospital in Hoa Vang, taking the total number of recovered patients to 563.

The Southeast Asian nation has reported 1,014 coronavirus cases, including 672 domestic infections, since January 23, when it confirmed the very first patient.

Twenty-five COVID-19 patients in Vietnam have died so far, most having suffered serious pre-existing conditions. A male patient passed away on August 12 after having tested negative for the virus four times.

A total of 532 local infections have been documented since July 25, when the central city detected the first local transmission of COVID-19 after Vietnam had gone 99 days without any locally-transmitted case.

Nearly 104,800 people are quarantined at hospitals, centralized facilities or at home in Vietnam for being in close contact with COVID-19 patients or returning from virus-hit areas.

Among the active patients, 138 have tested negative for the virus at least once since receiving treatment.

Saturday also saw social distancing measures lifted in Dai Loc District, located in the central province of Quang Nam.

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