Two more cases take Vietnam Covid-19 tally to 239

"Patient 238" is a 17-year-old girl from Thach Ha Town in the central province of Ha Tinh. She works in Thailand and stayed with "Patient 210" in Bangkok. "Patient 210" is a 26-year-old woman from Can Loc District in Ha Tinh who returned to Vietnam from Thailand March 20 after she had met with "Patient 201," an employee of the Truong Sinh company, the food and logistic services provider to Hanoi’s Bach Mai Hospital, now the nation’s largest Covid-19 hotspot.

The Health Ministry did not identify the patient as part of Bach Mai's infection circle as the connection is not clear.

The 17-year-old took a car from Bangkok to Vietnam on March 18, via a Laos border gate in Quang Binh Province. She was quarantined at a camp in the nearby Ha Tinh Province and after testing positive, is being treated at the province's Cau Treo General Hospital.

"Patient 239" is a cancer patient, aged 71. A resident of An Hoa Commune, Tam Duong District in the northern province of Vinh Phuc., he had visited the Department of Oncology at Bach Mai Hospital for a health check on March 11. On March 18, he returned for another appointment and stayed overnight at the hospital. During his time at the hospital, he bought food at the canteen serviced by the staff of the Truong Sinh Company. After leaving the hospital on March 19, he stayed at home in Vinh Phuc. On March 28, he ran a fever and was admitted to the Vinh Phuc General Hospital. His sample tests came out Covid-19 positive on April 2. He is being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi's Dong Anh District.

The number of patients linked to the Bach Mai Hospital has increased to 44, 27 of whom are employees of the Truong Sinh Company.

More than 153 Covid-19 patients are currently being treated at 21 medical centers around the country. Another 86 who contracted the virus have recovered and been discharged.

The pandemic has claimed more than 59,000 lives as it spread to 205 countries and territories.