COVID-19: Daily caseload falls to a record low of 8,668 in a month

Vietnam has confirmed 8,668 coronavirus cases in 38 cities and provinces nationwide during the past 24 hours on September 20, decreasing by 1,357 cases compared to the previous day and marking a record low in the past month.

Of the new infections, 6,154 cases were detected in the community through test screening or random testing, 13 tested positive upon returning to Vietnam from overseas, and the rest were documented in quarantine or lockdown areas, the Ministry of Health said in its 06.00pm Coronavirus update.

Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest coronavirus hotspot, registered 5,171, down by 325 cases compared to the previous day. Binh Duong, another coronavirus hotspot in the south, recorded 1,410 new cases, down by 922 cases.

Other southern localities reported high infection rates, including Dong Nai with 869 new cases, Long An 268, Tien Giang 211, and Kien Giang 175.

The Central Highland province of Dak Lak surprisingly recorded 113 new cases, topping central localities in infection numbers.

Hanoi and Bac Ninh were the only two northern localities that detected infections during the past 24 hours, with the former reporting nine cases and the latter one case respectively.

As of 06.00pm on September 20, Vietnam has recorded 695,744 coronavirus cases since the start of the outbreak in January 2020, and 691,285 locally acquired infections following the resurgence of the virus more than four and a half months ago.

Of the total, 464,326 patients have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease, including 6,821 recoveries announced on September 20.

The MoH has also confirmed 215 COVID-19 deaths during the past 24 hours, with HCM City and Binh Duong reporting 163 and 36 fatalities respectively.

The September 20 figure has raised the COVID-19 death toll in Vietnam to 17,305, making up 2.5% of the total number of infections and 0.4% higher than the average death rate globally.

More than 34.5 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, with 6.64 million people getting full jabs.