Students, wearing facemasks amid concerns of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus outbreak, study in a classroom at the University of Science and Technology in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday. Photo: AFP

Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Thursday morning confirmed four new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 222.

The four cases are all Vietnamese, three of whom recently returned from abroad and had been under quarantine since arrival, and one was related to Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital, which is in connection with a number of confirmed infection cases, according to Vietnam news agency.

Vietnam has 4,671 suspected cases with nearly 80,000 being monitored and quarantined as of Thursday morning, and 63 patients have recovered with no deaths recorded so far in the country, according to the health ministry.