HANOI -- Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Thursday confirmed two new cases of COVID-19 infection in the community, the first of its kind in nearly two months, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 1,553 with 35 deaths.

The new cases include a 34-year-old female worker in northern Vietnam's Hai Duong province. She is a related contact of a Vietnamese woman found positive for a new variant of COVID-19 upon her arrival in Osaka, Japan a few days ago.

The other is a 31-year-old man from northern Vietnam's Quang Ninh province, who is a staff member at Van Don International Airport in the province. He displayed symptoms of fever, cough and a sore throat, and went to the hospital for medical check-up himself. His test result turned out positive late Wednesday, according to the ministry.

Both patients are being treated in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

Relevant authorities have immediately activated COVID-19 prevention and control measures, including implementing antiseptic work and placing related contacts under quarantine. Quang Ninh province has asked all students to stay at home until Sunday and requested minimizing crowd-gathering activities.

Meanwhile, testing experts of several major national hospitals have been sent to Hai Duong province to help with testing, according to the ministry. The province should focus all resources on epidemic control to put down the outbreak as soon as possible, with measures including locating and isolating all the areas the new case had been to within 10 days, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at an urgent meeting held late Wednesday.