Another direct contact of a noodle soup seller in Ho Chi Minh City has tested positive for COVID-19 once after three in close touch with her had been confirmed as infections since last week, the local health departmet told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday.

The daughter of the noodle soup vendor, also known as patient No. 4,780, is now a suspected case, as she tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday after running a fever, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said.

She was transferred to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases for dialysis on Monday night.

She had tested negative for the pathogen on May 20 as she was being quarantined at Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City for end-stage chronic renal failure care, the municipal Center for Disease Control (HCDC) said.

The alley at 404 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, District 3, where the suspected case lives, has been locked down since her test returned positive.

The Ministry of Health has yet to record this case so it is still a suspected infection.

The patient’s mother, 58-year-old D.T.T., sells noodle soup down the alley at 287 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ward 5, District 3, which is considered one of the central business hubs.

In a related development, the health ministry announced T.’s 18-month-old grandchild as a COVID-19 patient on Monday.

The boy’s mother took her son to visit T. on May 15 and 18, according to a contact tracing report.

The baby’s parents remain coronavirus-negative, the HCDC said.

The alley at 287 Nguyen Dinh Chieu alley is currently sectioned off after T. and two of her other children were confirmed as coronavirus patients on May 20.

Local health authorities are tracking the source of this infection cluster.

Vietnam has grappled with the pathogen’s re-emergence since April 27, with 2,406 community transmissions having been reported in 30 out of 63 provinces and cities.

Bac Giang has recorded 1,069 cases in this round, followed by Bac Ninh with 507 patients, Hanoi with 308, Da Nang with 152, and Vinh Phuc Province with 89.

Yen Bai, Quang Ngai, Dong Nai, Nghe An, Quang Ninh, and Quang Nam Provinces have registered no domestic contagion for two weeks.

Only seven cases have been confirmed in Ho Chi Minh City in this onslaught.

Vietnam has detected 5,461 cumulative cases, including 3,975 domestic infections, since the virus first emerged in the country on January 23, 2020, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

Forty-four patients have died, most having suffered critical pre-existing health problems.

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