HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's health minister on Thursday said 81 people had tested positive for the coronavirus linked to two cases announced earlier in the day, which were the country's first-known locally transmitted infections in nearly two months.
Nguyen Thanh Long announced the cases during a meeting of senior officials on Thursday, a recording of which was reviewed by Reuters. The cases come just weeks before the country's Lunar New Year holiday period, when big gatherings indoors are expected.
(This story refiles to add dropped word in headline)
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and James Pearson; Editing by Martin Petty)
