A total of nine novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases were confirmed in Vietnam on Thursday morning, all traced back to the central city of Da Nang, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.
Five of the patients are linked to Da Nang Hospital, including a nurse, three patients and one patient's family member.
Of the four remaining patients, three are Da Nang residents and the other is a Hanoi resident who recently came back from his trip to Da Nang, a touristy city on the central coast.
Their ages range from 32 to 76.
Vietnam has recorded 43 community-based cases, all traced back to Da Nang, since Saturday last week, after having gone 99 days without a single local transmission, according to a Tuoi Tre News count.
Thirty-four of the patients are in Da Nang, three in Quang Nam, one in Quang Ngai Province, two in Hanoi, two in Ho Chi Minh City, and one in Dak Lak.
Authorities are conducting aggressive contact tracing to stall the virus.
Da Nang started enforcing enhanced social distancing across the city on Tuesday that will be in effect for at least 15 days.
Officials have banned public gatherings of more than two people, shut down non-essential services, required citizens to wear face masks whenever outdoors, and asked them not to leave their home unless for essential trips while maintaining a two-meter distance in social interactions.
Flights to and from the beach city started to be suspended for 15 days on Tuesday.
The Southeast Asian nation has confirmed 459 COVID-19 infections as of Thursday morning, with 369 recoveries and zero casualties.
Six COVID-19 patients in Vietnam are severely ill due to their old age and underlying conditions, including two patients receiving life support from an ECMO machine.
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