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According to the ministry's report, all of the 50 newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases most of whom were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some northern provinces, including 45 in Bac Giang, two in Hung Yen, and one each in Hai Duong, Dien Bien, and Hanoi.
The 45 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. Earlier on Friday morning, 15 infections were also reported in the province. Local authorities have temporarily closed these four industrial parks for Covid-19 prevention and control.
As of Friday noon, 1,835 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 4,883, including 3,405 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on May 20, a total of 2,689 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 40 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
At present, over 129, 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.
On May 20, an additional 4,897 people were given Covid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccinated people in the country to 1,021,085 including 28,821 people having received two doses.