Two U.S. returnees take patient tally to 1,546

Both of them are natives of Ho Chi Minh City and aged 54 and 66.

They flew from the U.S. to the Republic of Korea and then took flight VN441 to the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on January 1.

The patients are being treated at the provincial-level General Hospital in Phu Yen Province.

The same day, five more patients were declared free of the virus, raising the total recoveries to 1,411.

Viet Nam has gone 51 days without a single community infection thanks to its effective containment measures.

Though the pandemic has been brought under control in the Southeast Asian nation, the Government remains consistent with its containment strategy as infections and death toll are rising fast around the world in recent weeks.

Along with effective containment strategy, the country is stepping up vaccine research with four under development by local vaccine producers./.

By Hoang Ha