Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung has tested negative for the new coronavirus (nCoV) after returning to Hanoi on the same flight that flew a Vietnamese girl who later was found positive with Covid-19, local media reported.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung. Photo: MPI

Minister Dung is pending further tests and in home quarantine for 14 days. “[My] test results have shown negative. My health condition is now normal,” Dung told VnExpress.  

Members that accompanied Dung during the trip have all tested negative for the virus and are also under home isolation.

The minister came back to Vietnam from London on a March 2 (Hanoi time) Vietnam Airlines flight on business-class seat 1A. The 26-year-old girl, who was confirmed positive for the virus on March 6, took seat 5K, also of business class.

The girl, who traveled to the UK, France and Italy in mid-February, did not declare her health conditions upon arrival in Hanoi and only went for a medical checkup on March 5 after developing a fever. She was hospitalized on the same day at the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases on the outskirts of Hanoi.

Dung and the girl were among 201 passengers who took the same flight. The crew of that flight included four pilots and 12 flight attendants.

Vietnam confirmed four new infection cases on March 6 and 7, bringing the tally of infections to 20. Sixteen of them have recovered and been discharged from hospital.