According to the ministry's report, 5,343 of the newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases 4,262 of whom were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some localities including 3,556 in Ho Chi Minh City, 964 in Binh Duong, 170 in Dong Nai, 109 in Dong Thap, 65 in Tien Giang, 60 in Long An, 42 in Hanoi, 39 in Vinh Long, 38 in Khanh Hoa, 35 in Ben Tre, 32 in Can Tho, 30 in Tay Ninh, 26 in Phu Yen, 22 in Ninh Thuan, 18 in Ba Ria - Vung Tau, 18 in Vinh Phuc, 17 in Dak Lak, 12 in Binh Phuoc, 12 in Kien Giang, 10 in Tra Vinh, nine in Hau Giang, eight in Binh Dinh, seven in Binh Thuan, six in Ha Giang, six in Quang Ngai, six in Soc Trang, five in Nghe An, five in Lam Dong, four in Dak Nong, four in Bac Ninh, three in Hung Yen, two in Lang Son, and one each in Gia Lai, Phu Tho, and Thanh Hoa.
Ho Chi Minh City continued to report the highest number of new infections in the country. On Tuesday, the city also recorded 3,322 new patients, the majority of which are individuals who came into contact with confirmed Covid-19 patients or who were detected in either isolation and locked down areas. The city has imposed social distancing measures in 15 days starting from July 9 in an effort to prevent the virus spread.
As of Wednesday evening, 64,508 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 43,222 in the virus hotspot of Ho Chi Minh City. The outbreak has so far spread to 59 cities and provinces nationwide.
With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 68,177 including 66,078 locally-transmitted cases.
There were 14 imported patients who are all Vietnamese people who recently returned from abroad. They were sent to quarantine areas upon arrival and are now being treated at local hospitals.
As of 6 pm on July 21, a total of 11,971 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 370 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
The country has conducted over 4.33 million Covid-19 vaccine shots, with 317,672 people having received two doses.