Bui Vien Street, a popular hangout spot for both locals and backpackers, is locked down March 15, 2020, soon after a Latvian tourist who stayed in the vicinity is confirmed positive with the Covid-19 virus. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

The Latvian tourist and his wife had arrived in HCMC on March 8 from Spain on Turkish Airways flight TK162, the Health Ministry confirmed Sunday.

The couple travelled to Phu Quoc on flight QH1512 and stayed at a hotel in the island until March 13. They returned to HCMC on flight QH1524 and stayed at a hotel in District 1’s Bui Vien Street and another in District 4. The hotels have not been named.

On March 14, the husband developed a fever and went to the city's Hospital of Tropical Diseases, where he was quarantined. Test results released Sunday showed that he was Covid-19 positive.

The man is Vietnam’s 54th patient and Saigon’s 8th. He is being treated at the Hospital of Tropical Diseases while his wife has been quarantined and awaiting her test results.

Medical officers are contacting and checking on people who’d come into close contact with the patient. Local authorities are asking passengers on the three flights that 'patient 54' was on to contact the nearest medical facility for a health check.

The hotline for HCMC’s Center for Disease Control is 086957 7133.

Vietnam is treating 38 Covid-19 patients, including 14 foreigners. The country had earlier discharged 16 patients from hospital.

HCMC has recorded five Covid-19 cases since Friday last week. Previously, three patients in the city had recovered and been discharged.

The Covid-19 outbreak has thus far spread to 156 countries and territories around the world, with the death toll climbing to over 6,000.