Illustrative photo
Earlier, 19 new patients were announced in the ministry's morning report released at 6 am the same day.
According to the ministry's noon report, 85 out of the 86 newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases who were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown in some northern and central provinces and cities, including 63 in Bac Giang, seven in Hanoi, four in Dien Bien, three in Bac Ninh, three in Hai Duong, two in Danang City, and one each in Ha Nam, Hai Phong, and Hung Yen.
The 63 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. Local authorities have decided to temporarily close these four industrial parks since Tuesday morning for Covid-19 prevention and control.
As of Tuesday noon, 1,424 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.
The imported patient is a 67-year-old South Korean man who recently arrived in Binh Dinh Province. He was sent to a quarantine site in Danang City upon arrival and is now being treated at the Danang Lung Hospital.
With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 4,464, including 2,994 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on May 17, a total of 2,668 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 37 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
At present, over 122, 640 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.
