HANOI, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Total confirmed novel coronavirus cases have risen to 53 in Vietnam after three Vietnamese and a Czech national were confirmed to be infected, the country's Ministry of Health announced on Saturday afternoon.
Among the three Vietnamese patients, one is a man in his 50s from Ba Dinh district of the capital city of Hanoi, who took a business trip to Paris and returned to the country on Monday.
Another Vietnamese patient is a 22-year-old female student studying in Europe who traveled to multiple countries between Feb. 23 and March 12 before returning home on Friday.
The other local case is a 24-year-old female from Ha Long, northern Quang Ninh province, who returned to Vietnam from London on Monday.
The 53-year-old Czech male citizen, who was reportedly in contact with Italians, arrived in the southern Ho Chi Minh City on March 3.
The total confirmed cases in Hanoi have thus risen to nine, while Ho Chi Minh City and Quang Ninh have so far confirmed seven and five cases of infection respectively.
A total of 16 of the 53 confirmed cases in Vietnam have been discharged from hospital. The country has seen 37 new infections, among which 13 are foreigners, since March 6.
Vietnam announced on Saturday that it will temporarily suspend the entry of tourists who having been in or transited through Schengen countries or Britain within 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival in Vietnam from Sunday. The suspension will be in effect for 30 days, not applicable to those who arrive on diplomatic or official purposes.
The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has announced that it will stop carrying passengers from London, Paris and Frankfurt to Vietnam from Sunday, Vietnam News Agency reported Saturday, adding that flights from Vietnam to Europe are still available to bring European passengers back to their countries.
