Two new confirmed coronavirus cases in Vietnam bring country's total to 12: Reports

Two new coronavirus cases were registered in Vietnam on Thursday, bringing the total number of people infected with the virus in the country to 12, the VnExpress online newspaper reported, citing the Health Ministry.

According to the news outlet, two family members of a Vietnamese worker, who returned to the country from the Chinese city of Wuhan on January 17, tested positive for the coronavirus - the 49-year-old mother and 16-year-old sister. The worker himself remained quarantined at a hospital in Hanoi.

On Saturday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc declared an epidemic in the country, and permits for airlines to fly to China were temporarily revoked.

The current global death toll from the coronavirus has already exceeded 560 people, and over 28,000 others have been infected all over the world since it was first detected in December.