Doctors check on a patient infected with coronavirus at Chợ Rẫy Hospital, HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo

BEIJING — A Vietnamese citizen in China has been infected with the novel coronavirus (nCoV), becoming the first Vietnamese national in the hardest-hit country to contract the deadly virus, according to the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing.

The 30-year-old patient is a woman from Việt Nam’s southern province of Đồng Nai. She got married in China and is now residing in Huichang District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province.

She tested positive for nCoV on Wednesday and was transferred to a local hospital the next day. At present, the patient is in a stable condition and does not have a fever.

The Vietnamese Embassy has asked the Chinese hospital to provide treatment for the patient and continue to keep a close watch on her condition. Meanwhile, three Vietnamese citizens returning from China's Wuhan city tested positive for nCoV as of Thursday afternoon, reported the Ministry of Health.

One of them has been quarantined at central Thanh Hóa provincial hospital, while the other two are undergoing treatment at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội.

All three have reportedly gone to China’s Wuhan – the epicentre of the sweeping pneumonia virus outbreak.

The country is quarantining a total of 32 suspected cases, awaiting final test results, while 65 cases have tested negative. Forty-three people are being quarantined despite having no symptoms as they have had contact with suspected nCoV-infected patients. — VNS