Vietnam recorded 143 more Covid-19 infections as of Sunday evening, raising the total number of patients in the country to 7,107 the Ministry of Health has reported.
According to the ministry's report, 142 of the newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases most of whom were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some localities including 44 in Bac Giang, 49 in Ho Chi Minh City, 28 in Bac Ninh, 20 in Hanoi, and one in Danang.
Ho Chi Minh City has become a new Covid-19 hotspot in Vietnam over the last few days with most of the infections were detected at the Revival Ekklesia Mission Vietnam, a Christian sect based in Go Vap district. Nearly 200 related cases have been confirmed over the past four days, including 49 cases on May 30 alone. The number of positive cases linked to the religious sect is anticipated to keep rising in the coming days.
Ho Chi Minh City authorities have decided to impose social distancing on the entire city from May 31 in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.
The 44 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 weeks. Local authorities have temporarily closed the four industrial parks for Covid-19 prevention and control.
As of Sunday evening, 4,034 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 2,118 in the virus epicentre of Bac Giang. The outbreak has so far spread to 34 cities and provinces nationwide.
One imported patient is a 33-year-old Vietnamese woman who returned from Hungary on May 7. She was sent to a quarantine area in Dong Nai Province upon arrival and is now being treated at a local hospital.
With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 7,107 including 5,604 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on May 30, a total of 2,950 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 47 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
