Specifically, flights identified with COVID-19 infected passengers include:

Singapore Airlines’ SQ 176 from Singapore to Noi Bai on March 15, 2020;

Vietjet Air's VJ 682 from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on March 4, 2020;

Turkey Airlines’ TK 162 from Istanbul to Ho Chi Minh City on March 8, 2020;

Bamboo Airways’ QH 1521 from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc on March 9, 2020;

Bamboo Airways’ QH 1524 from Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh City on March 13, 2020;

Aeroflot SU 290, on March 12, flying from Moscow and arriving in Hanoi on March 13, 2020;

Qatar Airways’ QR 970 from Doha to Ho Chi Minh City on March 10, 2020;

Thai Airways’ TG 564 from Bangkok to Noi Bai on March 15.

Also on March 16, the Ministry of Health continued to issue a notice on the record of newly confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Vietnam. Accordingly, "Patient No. 58" was identified as a female (26 years old, located at Yen The street, Dien Bien ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi). The patient is an international student in France, entering the Noi Bai International Airport on March 15. The Hanoi Center for Disease Control has screened and sampled and she was tested positive for SARS-COV-2 virus. Patients and close contacts have been quarantined and under treatment at the Central Tropical Disease Hospital (Dong Anh facility).

"Patient No. 59" is a female (30 years old, located at Bo De Ward, Long Bien District, Hanoi), a flight attendant from the UK to Vietnam on March 2. This is also the flight that recorded previous cases of COVID-19. On March 14, the patient had a cough, fever, and tested positive for SARS-COV-2 virus on March 15. Patients are isolated and under treatment at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases (Dong Anh facility) with stable health.

Quarantine work at Lien Khuong Airport

"Patient No. 60" is a male (29 years old, French nationality) who is a passenger on a flight from France to Noi Bai on March 9. This is also a flight with positive cases of COVID-19. Afterwards, the patient traveled to some locations in Hanoi and Ninh Binh. On March 15, the patient returned to Hanoi and was sampled and quarantined by the Hanoi Center for Disease Control. On March 15, the patient was tested positive for COVID. In the evening of the same day, the samples were taken to the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. Currently, patients are isolated at the Central Tropical Hospital (Dong Anh facility) with a stable health condition.

At 8:30PM on the same day, Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang said that the sample sent by Ninh Thuan Disease Control Center was positive for SARS-COV-2 virus, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam up to 61. That is a male patient (42 years old, addressed in Van Lam 3 village, Phuoc Nam commune, Thuan Nam district, Ninh Thuan). Previously, the patient went to Malaysia on February 27 and returned to Vietnam on March 4 on flight VJ 682 from Malaysia to Tan Son Nhat International Airport. After returning to the locality, on March 10, the patient had symptoms of sore throat and fever but did not take any medicine. On March 15, the patient came to Ninh Thuan General Hospital for examination and treatment. Currently, the patient is being under medical care at the Department of Tropical Diseases (General Hospital of Ninh Thuan Province).

Facing the emergence of new cases of COVID-19 in Hanoi, the Ministry of Health and the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee directed the implementation of synchronous and effective activities to cope with the disease such as: Conduct a meeting of the Steering Committee for COVID-19 Epidemic Prevention and Control to assess the epidemic situation and propose response measures; investigate the contacts, handle outbreaks, disinfect the environment where patients stay, thoroughly isolate and closely monitor the health of all close contacts of the cases; organize patient receipt and treatment, strict quarantine and timely treatment and management, fully apply solutions to prevent infection for health workers and caregivers, as well as monitor their health status according to the Ministry of Health's regulations.

In addition, the Ministry of Health also recommends that the Hanoi Municipal People's Committee continue to organize an expanded investigation, quarantine and monitor the health of all cases of close contacts of the cases and cases of contacts of the close contacts. At the same time, propaganda shall be carried out in the epidemic areas about proactive disease prevention measures, recommendations by the health sector and the epidemic control measures by the Hanoi Steering Committee on Epidemic Prevention and Control.