The Nha Trang Pasteur Institute confirmed that a patient tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total in Việt Nam to 67. —  Photo vov.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Nha Trang Pasteur Institute this morning confirmed that a patient tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, bringing the total number of people infected with COVID-19 in Việt Nam to 67.

The male patient, 36, lives at Thôn Văn Lâm 3, Phước Nam commune, Thuận Nam District, Ninh Thuận Province. The patient had travelled with patient No. 61 to Malaysia on February 27, 2020 and back to Việt Nam on March 4, 2020 on flight VJ826 from Malaysia to Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City.

The patient is being treated at the Department of Tropical Diseases, Ninh Thuận General Hospital.

The Nha Trang Pasteur Institute said that yesterday evening it received 17 samples sent from the Ninh Thuận Province Centre for Disease Control. These samples were collected from people who have had close contact with COVID-19 patients. They are currently being isolated at Ninh Thuận General Hospital.

As of 7am on March 18, there were 198,178 confirmed COVID-19 cases around the world, including 80,884 in mainland China and 117,294 in 165 other countries and territories. The number of fatalities stood at 7,965, including 3,226 in mainland China, according to the health ministry’s public health emergency operations centre. — VNS