According to the ministry's report, 329 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 249 in Ho Chi Minh City, 32 in Binh Duong, 12 in Phu Yen, 12 in Dong Thap, seven in Nghe An, four in Lam Dong, three in Vinh Long, two in Long An, two in Tra Vinh, and one each in Khanh Hoa, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Binh Phuoc, An Giang, and Dak Lak.
Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have 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.
As of Saturday noon, 15,283 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 5,710 in Bac Giang Province and 5,187 in Ho Chi Minh City. The outbreak has so far spread to 52 cities and provinces nationwide.
One imported patient is a 72-year-old Vietnamese woman who recently returned from abroad. She was sent to a quarantine area in An Giang 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 18,690 including 16,753 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on July 2, a total of 7,395 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 84 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
At present, over 200,000 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 July 2, an additional 27,843 people were given Covid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccine doses used in the country to over 3.8 million. The number of people who have received two doses has risen to 214,405.
