Daily infection count climbs to 1,029 as HCM City’s number peaks at 710

Ho Chi Minh City continued to report the highest number of new infections with 710 being recorded on July 6 alone, the majority of which are linked to individuals who came into contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients or who were detected in either isolation and locked down areas.

The latest cases recorded in Hanoi are individuals who came into close contact with COVID-19 infections from other provinces, with these cases being the first local infections found in the capital after nine consecutive days of no cases.

Elsewhere, the cases detected in other provinces are either F1 contacts of infected patients, or involve individuals in areas currently under lockdown, including industrial parks.

Following the latest cases, a total of 1,881 imported infections, along with 20,183 locally-transmitted ones, have now been reported in the country.

The same day saw the Ministry of Health announce the discharge of a further 55 COVID-19 patients, thereby boosting the total number of recoveries to 8,077.

With regard to the latest outbreaks in Hanoi, Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control, said currently all areas linked to new infections are under lockdown and have been thoroughly disinfected. In addition, related cases continue to be investigated and will be contact traced.

"However, the risk of an outbreak is still hidden from people returning from pandemic-hit areas such as Ho Chi Minh City, Nghe An, and Bac Giang as F0 cases may be hiding somewhere, so it is still necessary to take precautions," Tuan emphasized.

The country has so far registered more than 22,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic first appeared in the country early last year, including more than 8,000 recoveries and 94 fatalities.