Of the night tally, 400 cases were recorded in HCMC, 40 in Long An, 34 in Tien Giang, 32 in Dong Thap, 25 in Khanh Hoa, 22 in Phu Yen, eight in Hung Yen, seven in Binh Duong, six in Can Tho, five in Bac Ninh, four in Hau Giang, two each in Soc Trang and Dak Nong, Binh Phuoc, one each in Nghe An and Bac Giang.
Among the new cases, 500 were contained within quarantine or locked down zones. The rest are either linked to the Covid hotspots in the localities or being contact traced.
Of the 1,616 local cases recorded on Friday, 1,229 were in HCMC, a new high for the city. 34 patients have recovered, raising the total number of recoveries since the start of the pandemic early last year to 8,984. The death toll since the pandemic started also raised to 110, after five died of Covid-19 Friday.
Since the new wave began on April 27, Vietnam has recorded 22,477 cases and 75 deaths.