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According to the ministry's report, all of the 36 newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases most of whom were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some northern provinces, including 10 in Bac Ninh,10 in Bac Giang, 10 in Hanoi, three in Hai Duong, and one each in Dien Bien, Thai Binh, and Vinh Phuc.
The 10 cases in Bac Giang were recorded at some industrial parks of Van Trung, Dinh Tram, Song Khe-Noi Hoang, and Quang Chau which have reported a large outbreak over the last few days. Local authorities have decided to temporarily close these four industrial parks since Tuesday morning for Covid-19 prevention and control.
As of Wednesday noon, 1,538 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27. The outbreak has so far spread to 28 cities and provinces nationwide.
With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 4,579, including 3,108 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on May 18, a total of 2,687 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 37 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
At present, over 121, 000 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home.
Also on May 18, an additional 5,979 people were given Covid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccinated people in the country to 1,011,395 including 28,852 people having received two doses.