Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Việt Nam have topped the 1,000 mark as 14 new patients were reported on Thursday night, with two imported.

The Pasteur Institute in HCM City has helped Hospital 199 of the Ministry of Public Security and the Đà Nẵng C Hospital in Đà Nẵng City, the epicentre of the new outbreak, to set up two laboratories that conduct tests to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The central provincial Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has taken medical samples of 51 people who had close contact with a teacher in Phước Sơn district after he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 for the first time on Wednesday morning.

A temple in Tây Hồ has been closed after thousands of people visited breaching social distancing regulations.

From Thursday afternoon, some areas of Cao Bằng, Bắc Kạn, Lạng Sơn, Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang and Thái Nguyên provinces and the northwest region are expected to see 100 to 200mm of rain accompanied by strong winds, lightning and whirlwinds.

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens have returned home safely from the US and been quarantined upon arrival.