A Japanese national and five Vietnamese citizens who recently arrived in Vietnam from Poland, Germany, and Japan have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, raising the total number of Covid-19 patients in the country to 1,420, the Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday evening.

Illustrative photo.

According to the ministry's report, the 50-year-old Japanese man landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on December 20.

He was sent to a quarantine area in Binh Duong Province upon arrival and tested positive for SAR-CoV-2 on December 21.

The patient is now being treated at the Binh Duong Provincial General Hospital.

Three other new patients are Vietnamese men aged between 22-25 who returned from Poland at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on December 18.

They were sent to a local quarantine area upon arrival and are now being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

The last patients are two Vietnamese women aged 54 and 60 who arrived from Germany at Van Don International Airport on December 18.

They were also sent to quarantine upon arrival and are now being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases.

With these new infection cases, the number of imported Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 727.

As of 6 pm on December 22, a total of 1,281 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital. There have been 35 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.

At present, over 16,360 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home.