Two of four new Covid-19 cases linked to Da Nang

Two of the new cases are linked to the nation’s current Covid-19 hotspot Da Nang - a man from HCMC and another from the central province of Quang Ngai. The other two are Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Russia and quarantined upon arrival, the Health Ministry said.

"Patient 587" and "Patient 588" were quarantined on arrival July 17 on landing at the Van Dong Airport in Quang Ninh Province. They tested positive for the novel coronavirus Saturday and are being treated at the Hoa Binh General Hospital in the eponymous province.

Twenty-one others on the same flight had previously been confirmed infected as well.

"Patient 589" is a 42-year-old man from HCMC who’d traveled to Da Nang as a tourist. He's being treated at the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases. As of Sunday, over 26,600 people returning to HCMC from Da Nang have informed themselves to authorities.

"Patient 590" is a 40-year-old man in Quang Ngai who had close contact with another Covid-19 patient at the Da Nang Hospital, where dozens of Covid-19 cases have been recorded over the past week. He tested positive Saturday and is being treated at a medical facility in Quang Ngai.

Vietnam has recorded 44 new cases in the last 24 hours. Since the disease resurfaced among the community Saturday last week, Da Nang has recorded 104 cases, becoming the pandemic’s latest epicenter in Vietnam. Quang Nam has reported 26 cases, HCMC eight, Hanoi and Quang Ngai, two each, and Thai Binh and Dak Lak one each, all linked to Da Nang.

Of the total 590 cases, 373 have recovered and three have died. Over 94,000 are in quarantine.

The pandemic has killed over 687,600 globally.