COVID-19: Daily caseload hits new peak at 14,500 in Vietnam

Vietnam has recorded 14,507 new coronavirus cases with more than half diagnosed in the community during the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in its coronavirus update on December 1.

A healthcare worker working on a sample for COVID-19 testing in Vietnam.

Official data from the MoH showed an additional 196 patients have died and 2,704 more patients have recovered from the disease.

Nearly four fifths of the new cases were recorded in southern Vietnam, with Ho Chi Minh City registering the highest number at 1,675. It was followed by Can Tho, Soc Trang, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Dong Thap, Vinh Long, Binh Thuan, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ca Mau and Kien Giang that reported between 500 and 1,000 cases each.

In the north, Hanoi recorded its highest number of infections at 467, with about half of them diagnosed in the community. There were also sharp rises in infection numbers in Hai Phong and Bac Ninh provinces that saw 141 and 106 cases detected respectively.

Elsewhere Khanh Hoa and Dak Lak in central Vietnam registered more than 300 new cases each.

As of 06pm on December 1 Vietnam has confirmed 1,252,590 COVID-19 cases since the start of the first outbreak in January 2020, ranking 35th out of 223 countries and territories worldwide.

Of the total, 992,052 patients have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease.

As many as 25,448 patients have died of the virus, making up 2% of the total number of infections.

More than 123 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, with nearly 52 million people getting their second shot.