Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed two imported COVID-19 cases and 22 recovered patients on Monday, with zero local infections having been detected for one and a half months.

One of the new patients is a 59-year-old Costa Rican expert who entered Vietnam on Saturday.

He was quarantined upon arriving at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on board flight KE394.

The expert tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday and is now isolated for treatment in the Vietnamese capital.

The other patient is a Vietnamese repatriate who touched down at Da Nang International Airport in Da Nang aboard flight VN431 from the U.S., with transit time in South Korea, on January 13.

He was sent to quarantine upon landing before being diagnosed with the respiratory disease on January 17.

The patient is being treated at the Da Nang Hospital for Lung Diseases.

Three passengers on his flight had been confirmed as coronavirus cases prior to his diagnosis.

The health ministry also announced 22 recoveries on Monday.

Vietnam has reported 1,539 COVID-19 patients as of Monday night, with 1,402 having recovered and 35 virus-related deaths, the ministry said.

The country has detected no local transmission since December 2.

The government began barring entry to foreign nationals on March 22 but it allows foreign experts, skilled workers, investors, and diplomats to enter the country on a case-by-case basis, subject to mandatory quarantine.

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