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This was the largest daily counts recorded so far in the country.
According to the ministry's report, 129 out of the 131 newly-confirmed patients are locally-transmitted cases who were detected in quarantine sites or areas under lockdown, including 85 in Bac Giang Province, 16 in Bac Ninh Province, 13 in Hanoi, eight in Danang City, four in Vinh Phuc Province, two in Lang Son Province, and one in Nam Dinh Province.
As of Saturday evening, 952 locally-transmitted cases have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country on April 27. The outbreak has so far spread to 26 cities and provinces nation-wide.
With these new infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to 3,985, including 2,522 locally-transmitted cases.
Two imported patients are two Vietnamese women aged 29 and 35 who recently returned from Malaysia and Japan to Vinh Long and Quang Ninh provinces. They were sent to local quarantine areas upon arrival and are now being treated at local hospitals.
As of 6 pm on May 15, a total of 2,668 Covid-19 patients had recovered and been discharged from hospital.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Health also confirmed the first Covid-19 related death since September last year. The deceased patient is an 89-year-old woman with a history of diabetes and hypertension.
So far there have been 36 deaths, most of them being the elderly with serious underlying diseases.
At present, over 83, 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 14, 10,515 more people were given Cvid-19 vaccine in Vietnam, raising the total number of vaccinated people to 969,697 including 21,042 people having received two doses.
