Medical staff at the HCMC Pasteur Institute test samples for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the laboratory. — VNA/VNS Photo Đinh Hằng

HCM CITY — Three COVID-19 patients in HCM City who were previously given the all-clear have tested positive again for SARS-CoV-2, taking the total number of relapse cases in the locality to nine.

The three are patients No. 65, 157 and 206 who were deemed to have recovered on April 1, 10 and 23, respectively, director of the municipal Department of Health Nguyễn Tấn Bình said on Monday.

Twenty people in the city tested negative for the virus 15 days after being discharged from hospitals, he added.

As of Monday, the southern metropolis had reported 55 COVID-19 cases, of whom 11, including the nine relapse cases, are being treated at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and the Củ Chi field hospital.

Given the rise in relapse cases, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Lê Thanh Liêm urged the local health sector to continue monitoring patients who have been discharged through daily testing for 30 days.

By Monday afternoon, Việt Nam had recorded no new COVID-19 infections within the community for 18 straight days, with the national count standing at 271.

Two COVID-19 patients at medical facilities in the northern province of Ninh Bình were given the all-clear on Monday, bringing the number of such cases to 221 or 81 per cent, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Some 27,410 people are now under health monitoring or quarantine, of whom 238 are in concentrated quarantine facilities in hospitals, 5,871 at other concentrated facilities, and 21,300 in private accommodation. — VNS