Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has confirmed two more individuals infected with the Wuhan coronavirus (nCoV), taking the total of infections in the country to 12 as of Thursday evening.

An nCoV-patient in quarantine at National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi. Photo: Zing

The two new cases are mother and sister of an nCoV-infected woman named N.T.D, who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan on January 17. They live in Binh Xuyen district, Vinh Phuc province, some 60 kilometers to the north of Hanoi, local media reported.

The new patients had been put under close watch by local health authorities given their close contact with N.T.D, who was among eight workers sent by Japan’s Nihon Plast Co. to Wuhan for training. Five of the workers have been confirmed positive with the virus and one of them has recovered and been released of hospital.

Until now, four nCoV patients in Vietnam have been cured, including one 28-year-old Chinese national who got infected from his father who came to visit him.

P.T.B, who is N.T.D’s aunt and the 10th confirmed case in Vietnam, has seen no fever after five days of treatment.

Vietnam has stopped issuing visas to Chinese tourists. All Vietnamese citizens returning from China, Chinese nationals, and foreigners who transited in China, must be quarantined for 14 days when setting foot in Vietnam.