HANOI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam reported a new high of 3,718 new COVID-19 infections on Saturday, surpassing the previous record of 3,416 cases registered on Thursday, according to the country's Ministry of Health.
The new infections included 3,705 locally transmitted and 13 imported cases, bringing the total tally to 47,904 with 225 deaths, the ministry said.
Among the community cases, 2,786 were reported in the southern Ho Chi Minh City, 180 in the southern Dong Thap province, and 134 in the southern Long An province.
Nationwide, as many as 10,312 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered, up 292 from Friday.
As of Saturday, Vietnam has registered a total of 45,884 domestically transmitted COVID-19 cases, including 44,314 detected since the start of the latest outbreak in late April, according to the health ministry.
In a bid to curb the development of the epidemic in southern localities, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Saturday ordered 16 more southern localities to impose the strictest social distancing regulations for 14 days starting next Monday, Vietnam News Agency reported.
According to the order, people in the localities must stay at home and only go out for basic necessities such as buying food or medicines or to work at factories or businesses that are still allowed to open, the report said. Enditem
