The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control on Monday said a suspected COVID-19 case has tested negative for the virus after an initial positive test last week.

The case is a 65-year-old man in Binh Chanh District, according to the center’s report.

The man tested positive on New Year’s Eve but he already retested negative twice, the center said on Monday afternoon.

Further tests have been conducted on the man, pending results.

His contacts have been quarantined and tested for safety reasons.

A source from the Binh Chanh People’s Committee told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday afternoon that it had received the report on the suspected case in the morning.

The 7A Military Hospital in District 5, where the man had visited, is in normal operation, with patients and visitors required to declare their health status and those exhibiting fever symptoms taken to an isolation area.

The 65-year-old man traveled in Sa Pa, located in the northern province of Lao Cai, from December 24 to 27, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control report.

He moved to Hanoi from Sa Pa in a tour package car before flying to Ho Chi Minh City on December 27.

On December 28, he suffered coughing and a fever so he bought some medications from a drugstore in the vicinity of his house for self-treatment.

He visited a private clinic near his house one day later and was prescribed some medicines.

On December 31, he was admitted to the emergency room of the 7A Military Hospital in District 5.

Doctors suspected him to have caught COVID-19, with such pre-existing conditions as hypertension and heart failure.

His sample was then taken and transferred to the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute for further testing.

The man's retest returned negative for the pathogen at the institute on Sunday and Monday.

Vietnam has confirmed 1,494 coronavirus patients as of Monday morning, including 693 local infections, according to the Ministry of Health.

A total of 1,339 patients, including two announced on Sunday, have recovered from the respiratory disease while 35 have died, suffering from comorbid conditions.

The country has recorded zero domestic cases since December 2, with four infections detected since December 26 among a group of six Vietnamese who had made an illegal entry on December 24 to duck compulsory quarantine.

Two domestically-made vaccines are undergoing clinical trials in Vietnam, their rollout expected late this year or early next year.

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