According to the ministry's report, 173 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 20 in Bac Ninh, 123 in Bac Giang, 25 in Ho Chi Minh City, three in Hanoi, and two in Lang Son.
The 123 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 Friday evening, 3,507 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 1,824 in the virus epicentre of Bac Giang. The outbreak has so far spread to 31 cities and provinces nationwide.
One imported patient is a 41-year-old man who returned from Malaysia on May 6. He was sent to a quarantine area in Vinh Long Province 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 6,570 including 5,077 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on May 28, a total of 2,896 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.
At present, over 162,000 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 27, an additional 4,129 people were given Covid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccine doses used in the country to 1,038,741. The number of people who have received two doses has risen to 28,529.
