A whopping 1,307 were locally-transmitted infections
The Ministry of Health logged a record high of 1,314 coronavirus infections in Vietnam on Thursday, with the southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City continuing to lead the table.
Seven of the latest cases were imported from abroad while 1,307 were locally transmitted and detected in 25 provinces and cities.
Ho Chi Minh City, a national business hub, registered 915 patients, Binh Duong Province 135, and Dong Thap Province 108.
Thursday’s daily rise beat the old record of 1,102 cases set on Monday.
Since the fourth and worst virus wave broke out in Vietnam on April 27, the Southeast Asian nation has documented 20,917 COVID-19 patients in 57 out of its 63 provinces and cities.
Ho Chi Minh City is on top with 9,066 infections, followed by Bac Giang Province with 5,687, Bac Ninh Province with 1,636, Binh Duong Province with 1,053, and Hanoi with 488.
The city will go into 15 days of extensive restrictions on Friday, banning non-essential businesses, public gatherings of more than two people, public transport, including taxis and ride-hailing vehicles, unnecessary travels, and even takeout services, among other curbs.
By comparison, Vietnam confirmed 106 community cases in the first wave from January 23 to April 16, 2020, 554 in the second from July 25 to December 1, 2020, and 910 in the third from January 28 to March 25, 2021.
The country has documented 24,385 cumulative infections since the pathogen first hit it early last year, according to the health ministry’s data.
Recoveries have mounted to 8,950, including 393 announced on Thursday, whereas the death toll has reached 105.
The country has administered 3,960,956 AstraZeneca vaccine doses to medical workers, teachers, factory workers, and other frontline staff since it rolled out inoculation on March 8.
A total of 241,913 people have been fully vaccinated.
The government set a target of immunizing two-thirds of a population of nearly 98 million people against COVID-19 by the end of this year.
