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Medical staff in protective gear at Bach Mai hospital (Photo: VNE)

Of the total confirmations, 85 patients are in their 20s, which makes up the majority (36 percent), according to the Ministry of Health. People in their 30s and 40s comprise around 15 percent each.

The infection demographics can be explained by the fact that most cases were imported. Patients in the above-mentioned age ranges are returning overseas students and migrant workers.

Young patients from 10 to 19 years old are also overseas students or children accompanying their parents returning from abroad. Vietnam has only seen seven children being infected by the coronavirus, three of whom have been discharged from hospital.

Family transmission has been the cause of all infections among children under nine.

Since the fortnight-long Lunar New Year holiday that started January 17, most students at secondary level and under have not gone back to school with their break being extended multiple times on safety considerations. This could be a factor that has prevented infections in this age group. Vietnam has not reported any school-related infection so far.

The elderly consist of 10 percent of all reported cases. Of these, there are 18 patients in their 60s (7.7 percent), and four patients in their 70s (1.7 percent).

There was only one patient in her 80s, "Patient 161", a 88-year-old Vietnamese woman who lives in Van Lam District in the northern province of Hung Yen. She was at the Bach Mai Hospital March 17-22, Vietnam’s largest COVID-19 hotspot to date, where she was treated in the same room with another infected patient.

Of the five critically ill patients, four are senior citizens - the 88-year-old, a 64-year-old Vietnamese women and two British, 69 and 74 years old.

The Health Ministry has advised elders in Vietnam to stay at home. HCMC authorities said Thursday the city will provide home treatment or deploy remote medical counseling for the elders.

As of Friday, 85 patients in Vietnam have been discharged.

Vietnam declared COVID-19 a national epidemic Wednesday afternoon.

To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed almost 53,000 lives as it spread to 204 countries and territories.

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