One of the two Chinese nationals who were the first confirmed cases of infection by the new coronavirus in Vietnam has recovered, Zing cited the Vietnamese Ministry of Health on January 28.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on January 25 and 27 on Li Zichao, 28, was negative for the novel coronavirus which has sparked a pneumonia outbreak in China’s Wuhan city.

The isolation area where two Chinese coronavirus-infected patients are treated at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Zing

Li Zichao is currently conscious, and can breathe by himself, eat and sleep, showed no signs of fever, health officials said.

His father, Li Ding, 66, is still under treatment. He sleeps and eats without difficulty and his organs are functioning well, but he still needs a ventilator.

The two men were Vietnam's first confirmed cases of nCoV infection after it was first detected in Wuhan in China last December.

Ding arrived in Hanoi from Wuhan with his wife on January 13 before flying to Nha Trang four days later and developing a fever, according to VnExpress.

Zichao, who has been living in Long An Province for the last four months, went to visit him in Nha Trang. The three then came to Ho Chi Minh city and traveled back to the neighboring province of Long An by taxi.

Zichao developed a fever on January 20, three days after his father. Both were admitted to the Cho Ray Hospital on January 22. Ding’s wife tested negative.

Since they traveled to various places in the country by plane, train and taxi, there is a chance they have spread the disease, doctors said.

The virus has spread to other places across China and many other countries including the US, France, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and more.

Chinese authorities said as of January 28, 106 people had died of the disease. The number of confirmed cases of individuals infected with the virus topped 4,500.

In Vietnam, no locals have contracted the nCoV yet.

The Vietnamese health ministry has set up an active disease surveillance system to regularly check travelers at border gates, health facilities, and in the community to prevent the spread of epidemics.