According to the ministry's report, 576 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 563 in Ho Chi Minh City, five in Bac Giang, five in Tay Ninh, two in Long An, and one in Thai Binh.
Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City admitted that the virus fight in the city is facing great challenges as more chains of transmission of unknown origin have been uncovered, and many cases are asymptomatic.
Speaking at a meeting with Ho Chi Minh City leaders on Friday, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son pointed to the fact that virus infection at wholesale markets in the city is quite complicated as the number of detected cases has increased considerably.
He suggested suspending high-risk locations like Hoc Mon wholesale market for few days if the city wants to break the chain of transmission there.
As of Saturday morning, 11,794 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 5,554 in the virus epicentre of Bac Giang. The outbreak has so far spread to 47 cities and provinces nationwide.
Two imported patients are both Vietnamese citizens who recently returned from the US. They had been sent to quarantine areas in Khanh Hoa Province upon arrival and are now being treated at a local hospital.
With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 15,115 including 13,364 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on June 25, a total of 5,949 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 74 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
At present, over 175,000 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 June 25, an additional 167,646 people were given Covid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccine doses used in the country to over three million. The number of people who have received two doses has risen to 150,316.