HCM City continues to be the country’s epicenter with more than 2,500 new cases, followed by neighbouring Binh Duong (322) and Long An (286).

The remaining cases were detected in 21 other localities including Tien Giang, Dong Nai, Da Nang, and Vinh Long. Hanoi reported one new case.

As of Thursday, more than 8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered nationwide.

The same day, more than 300 healthcare workers from Hanoi’s Viet Duc University Hospital were sent to HCM City with tonnes of medical equipment to help the city fight COVID-19. They include many physicians and nurses with years of experience working at ICUs.

The Ministry of Health will establish four more Intensive Care Centres in the city, in addition to a 1,000-bed COVID-19 intensive care hospital already in operation.