According to the ministry's report, 3,080 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 2,382 in Ho Chi Minh City, 281 in Binh Duong, 75 in Dong Nai, 48 in Long An, 42 in Tay Ninh, 41 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, 38 in Vinh Long, 36 in Dong Thap, 31 in Tien Giang, 29 in Khanh Hoa, 17 in Ben Tre, 16 in Phu Yen, 12 in Can Tho, 10 in Kien Giang, nine in Hanoi, four in Binh Dinh, three in Soc Trang, three in An Giang, and one each in Bac Ninh, Dak Nong, and Bac Giang.
Ho Chi Minh City continued to report the highest number of new infections in the country. On Saturday, the city also recorded 2,786 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 Sunday morning, 47,394 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27, including 29,081 in the virus hotspot of Ho Chi Minh City. The outbreak has so far spread to 58 cities and provinces nationwide.
18 imported patients are all Vietnamese citizens who recently returned from abroad. They were sent to quarantine areas in Tay Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Duong, and Bac Kan upon arrival and are now being treated at local hospitals.
With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 51,002 including 48,964 locally-transmitted cases.
As of 6 pm on July 17, a total of 10,312 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
So far there have been 225 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
The country has conducted over 4.26 million Covid-19 vaccine shots, with 304,998 people having received two doses.
