Eight officials from the central Vietnamese province of Quang Ngai had boarded the same flight as a COVID-19 patient before attending two meetings with dozens of other officials and reporters.

In an urgent announcement on Wednesday morning, the Quang Ngai People’s Committee required nearly 50 delegates, reporters, and staff who attended two meetings on Tuesday morning and afternoon to self-quarantine and monitor their health.

The request came after eight officials were confirmed to have boarded the same flight, QH-2166, from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to Da Nang as COVID-19 patient No. 2,989 on April 29 before taking part in the two events.

Patient No. 2,989 is a 25-year-old woman who works as a masseuse at Phu An Hotel in Hai Chau District, Da Nang City.

She tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Tuesday and was confirmed as a COVID-19 patient later the same day.

A 23-year-old man who sells spa tickets at Phu An Hotel was also confirmed as a COVID-19 patient on Tuesday morning.

All eight officials who had direct contact with patient No. 2,989 have been brought to quarantine facilities and had their samples collected for COVID-19 testing.

If all of their results come back negative, their direct contacts will no longer have to self-quarantine.

Vietnam has documented 2,996 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday afternoon, with 2,560 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

Thirty-eight local infections have been recorded in the country since April 27.

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