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HCM CITY — A 23-year-old man, who was determined to have been on the same journey with a previously reported positive case that illegally entered the country from Myanmar, has tested positive to SARS-CoV-2, HCM City Centre for Disease Control said Monday morning.

The man’s registered residence is at Sư Vạn Hạnh apartment building in Ward 9, District 5, HCM City.

The patient has been transferred to Củ Chi field hospital for treatment.

His condition is stable but he showed symptoms including a stuffy nose and wet cough, according to health authorities.

The man said he left Myanmar on December 23, passing through Thailand and Cambodia, and illegally entered Việt Nam to avoid 14-day quarantine, together with Patient 1,440 and six other people on the morning of December 24.

After entering Việt Nam, they continued to travel in a white seven-seat car, the licence number and driver are still unknown. He stayed in Myanmar with patient 1,440.

Patient 1,440, 32, and a woman in the party went their separate ways to the Mekong Delta, while others continued their trip to HCM City.

The woman is currently being quarantined at Sa Đéc Hospital, Đồng Tháp Province.

The latest patient didn’t remember specifically which point of entry he used to get to the country.

He was placed under centralised quarantine on December 27 as a close contact of Patient 1,440, and the test results returned positive on the same day.

Police are still stationed the apartment building after the ward’s authorities were notified last night of a suspected COVID-19 case in connection with the case in Vĩnh Long.

Part of the apartment building in HCM City has been locked down for at least a few more days and other residents are told not to go outside.

Previously, the health ministry announced the case of Patient 1,440, which came to their attention after his own mother notified the local police of his illegal entry and breaching quarantine protocols.

He tested positive for coronavirus on December 24, and is currently receiving medical care at Vĩnh Long Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Hospital.

The health ministry said he has come into close contact with several people. 13 of his direct contacts, including his parents and local health workers and police officers, are negative for COVID-19 in their first test, while 120 other secondhand contacts are told to self-isolate at home. — VNS