TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwan office in Ho Chi Minh City is offering its assistance to relatives after a Taiwanese businessman died of COVID-19 in Vietnam, reports said Saturday (July 24).

News that the man, surnamed Chen (陳), tested positive for the coronavirus in the province of Binh Duong just north of Ho Chi Minh City reached the office on July 20, CNA reported. Since then, diplomats had maintained close contact with his family in Vietnam while offering information about eventual medical emergency flights to Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.

However, his condition gradually deteriorated, and on Friday (July 23), a final attempt by the hospital to save him ended with him passing away. MOFA said it was offering all necessary assistance to his relatives, but it could not reveal further details due to privacy concerns.

As in several other Southeast Asian nations, the COVID pandemic in Vietnam has been worsening, with 7,300 new cases recorded Friday. Lockdowns are in effect in the southern part of the country and in the capital Hanoi.

MOFA called on Taiwan citizens to protect their health and closely monitor instructions from the Vietnamese authorities. Taiwan has representative offices in both Hanoi in the north and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, with a significant number of Taiwanese companies operating in the country.