Trần Thị Huệ (second left) found her relatives after 24 years. — Photo provided by the hospital

The coronavirus has tragically torn plenty of families apart, but for the case of one Vietnamese family, it reunited them.

A 58-year-old woman recently found her relatives after 24 years apart at a COVID-19 quarantine area of Lạng Sơn Province’s General Hospital.

On July 17, Trần Thị Huệ was reunited with her family.

Trần Thế Nguyên, Huệ's brother, said in tears, Huệ was trafficked to China in 1996.

During that time, the family informed local authorities of the incident and tried to find Huệ for many years but to no avail.

According to the hospital, on July 3, Huệ was among a group of Vietnamese people transferred back to the country by China's Guangxi Province police. She had been found by local police.

She was quarantined and monitored at Lạng Sơn Province’s General Hospital.

When she was admitted to the hospital, she showed signs of being mentally disturbed but after treatment, her illness improved. Doctors and nurses asked her about her family address and contacted authorities to find her relatives.

Nguyên said, on July 16, the family heard from the hospital about Huệ and recognised her.

And early on July 17, at the hospital, when Huệ saw a commemorative photo of the whole family from 24 years ago, she recognised her relatives.

Her 94-year-old mother cried tears of joy when she welcomed home the daughter she thought she would have never seen again. — VNS