A health worker discusses COVID-19 vaccinations with a pregnant woman at the National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Hà Nội on Friday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam confirmed a further 13,321 new COVID-19 infections on Friday with more than half in HCM City.

The total amount of people to have contracted coronavirus in the country now stands at 589,417.

There were also another 275 deaths reported, including 21 fatalities from previous days added to the total.

On Friday alone, there were 254 deaths announced, lower than the country’s average rate in the last seven days which is 302 per day.

The new deaths were in HCM City (195), Bình Dương (41), three each in Tiền Giang, Đà Nẵng, and Đồng Nai, two in Đồng Tháp and one death in Bình Thuận, An Giang, Kiên Giang, Cần Thơ, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, Khánh Hòa and Nghệ An.

There has now been a total of 14,745 COVID-related deaths accounting for 2.5 per cent of total infections which is 0.4 per cent higher than the world’s average rate (2.1 per cent).

But there were another 12,751 patients given the all-clear on Friday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 350,921.

Friday’s new infections were found in Hồ Chí Minh (7,539), Bình Dương (3,563), Đồng Nai (823), Long An (321), Tây Ninh (248), Tiền Giang (156), Kiên Giang (86), Bình Phước (58), Đồng Tháp (58), Quảng Bình (48), Quảng Ngãi (45), Cần Thơ (37), Khánh Hòa (34), Bình Thuận (34), Đà Nẵng (30), Hà Nội (29), Bạc Liêu (26), Đắk Lắk (26), An Giang (19), Đắk Nông (17), Quảng Nam (16), Nghệ An (16), Bình Định (15), Phú Yên (13), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (11), Thừa Thiên Huế (8 ), Bến Tre (6), Lâm Đồng (5), Thanh Hóa (5), Vĩnh Long (3), Ninh Thuận (3), Sơn La (3), Trà Vinh (2), Gia Lai (2) and Hưng Yên (1).

Five localities with highest infections are HCM City (286,242), Bình Dương (149,859), Đồng Nai (32,822), Long An (27,537) and Tiền Giang (11,430). 

In the last 24 hours, the infections in HCM City increased by 1,990 cases while Bình Dương saw a decrease of 968, Đồng Nai down 57, Long An 91 and Tây Ninh down 87 cases.

There are currently 5,970 people in a serious condition, with 29 requiring life support, according to the health ministry.

Nearly 25 million people have been vaccinated, with almost 4.46 million fully vaccinated. — VNS