A man brought essentials for his relatives at the Việt Đức Hospital in Hà Nội on Saturday. The hospital has been placed under lockdown since yesterday due to a new cluster of COVID-19 infections. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

HÀ NỘI — There were 5,490 new cases of COVID-19 in Việt Nam recorded in the last 24 hours, down 1,464 compared to Friday and the lowest daily increase the country has seen in the past month.

Just 13 of the new cases were imported.

The three hotspots, HCM City, Bình Dương and Đồng Nai, all in the southern region, continued to lead the country with new daily infections, 2,723, 1,517, and 509 respectively, but these are down by hundreds compared to yesterday's figures.

The remaining new cases were found in An Giang (139), Long An (107), Kiên Giang (77), Đắk Lắk (59), Bình Thuận (47), Hà Nam (42), Khánh Hòa (36), Tiền Giang (36), Cần Thơ (23), Tây Ninh (20), Ninh Thuận (16), Quảng Bình (15), Hà Nội (14), Quảng Trị (13), Quảng Ngãi (12), Nghệ An (10), Đắk Nông (7), Bắc Giang (6), Đồng Tháp (6), Hậu Giang (5), Phú Thọ (5), Bình Định (5), Vĩnh Long (4), Cà Mau (3), Bạc Liêu (3), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (3), Phú Yên (2), Nam Định (2), Bình Phước (2), Quảng Ninh (2), Hưng Yên (1), Trà Vinh (1), Đà Nẵng (1), Hải Dương (1), Lâm Đồng (1), Gia Lai (1), and Ninh Bình (1).

The cluster at Việt Đức Hospital in Hà Nội has grown to 28, including 11 Hà Nội residents. 7,260 samples have been taken for testing, while the health ministry has asked Hà Nội People's Committee to arrange quarantine facilities for relatives of patients treated at the hospital and for the hospital's medical workers.

The latest caseload brings Việt Nam's total number of infections to 803,202, with 798,626 the result of the fourth wave of infections that swept the country since late April.

The country's seven-day average of daily confirmed new cases is down by 600 cases to 8,065 compared to yesterday.

Việt Nam also logged a new record of number of patients given the all-clear on Saturday, with 28,857 recoveries, higher than the previous record seen yesterday, bringing the country's total recoveries to 664,938.

6,337 patients are in serious condition, according to the health ministry's report, with 805 requiring invasive ventilation and 25 on life support (ECMO).

A total of 164 COVID-19 deaths were recorded on Saturday, bringing the seven-day average to 165. Việt Nam has had 19,601 COVID-19 fatalities to date, or 2.5 per cent of the total infections.

760,643 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on Friday, putting the total administered shots in Việt Nam to more than 43.6 million. 10.1 million people have received two doses of vaccines. — VNS