A 57-year-old man in Danang has been confirmed as positive for the novel coronavirus, marking the first case of community transmission of Covid-19 in Vietnam in 100 days.

Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long announced the news at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention on Saturday morning with the government.

The patient who lives in the central city’s Lien Chieu district had three positive tests on Thursday and Friday.

The result of the fourth test from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology came back positive on Saturday morning.

It is unclear how the man, who is now on a ventilator, contracted the virus.

The last community transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Vietnam was on April 16.

The Ministry of Health said the patient has remained at home in Lien Chieu district for the past month and didn’t travel out of town.

On July 7, he went to take care of his mother at Ngu Hanh Son health centre in Danang. The day before, he went to visit his mother after she was moved to Danang Hospital.

On July 17, he developed a fever and felt unwell. On the evening of the same day, he went to a cousin’s house for dinner. On July 18, he went to a wedding at the For You Palace on 2-9 Road in Danang.

On July 20, his fever had not abated and he developed a cough. He went for a check-up at Danang C Hospital and was diagnosed with pneumonia and was hospitalised. His samples were taken for Covid-19 testing and were found to be positive twice.

At least 105 people that had contact with the man have tested negative for Covid-19, Minister Long said.

The Ministry of Health sent a team of professionals to Danang to help with quarantine the same day while Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City has also sent highly skilled doctors to the central city to aid the treatment of the patient.

The ministry will conduct mass screening of at-risk areas in Danang, using quick test kits made in Vietnam.

In an attempt to prevent the risk, authorities have decided that flights bringing Vietnamese back from other countries as well as those carrying overseas experts to Danang will be redirected to another location.

Danang is still a major tourist attraction for domestic tourists and before today had not recorded a Covid-19 case since April.

Of the 416 cases in Vietnam, as many as 365 patients have been given the all-clear for the coronavirus, while the rest are being treated at medical establishments across the country. No deaths have been recorded.

There are currently 11,815 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions being quarantined, including 147 at hospitals, 10,993 at other facilities, and 675 at home.

VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK