HCMC – Vietnam reported 1,112 new Covid-19 cases this afternoon, July 12, taking the country's total so far to 31,590, according to the Ministry of Health.

Of the new cases, 1,105 had the coronavirus due to domestic transmission while the remaining seven were imported. Among the locally infected cases, 998 were found in quarantine centers or areas on lockdown. HCMC still took the lead in terms of case number at 879. The neighboring province of Dong Nai came second with 82 cases, followed by Tien Giang with 49 and Dong Thap with 38. The rest were reported in nine other localities including Hanoi, Phu Yen and Bac Giang. With the latest infections, the total cases in the current fourth coronavirus wave, which began on April 27, exceeded 28,000, with 58 out of the nation's 63 provinces and cities affected. On July 8, the government of HCMC announced the 15-day stay-at-home order with effect from July 9 in accordance with the prime minister’s Directive 16 to stop the spread of the raging Covid. But community spread has since shown no signs of abating with dozens or hundreds of new daily cases having no known sources of infection and the city has remained the country's biggest coronavirus infection hotbed. The ministry this morning also reported four more Covid-19 deaths who all had severe underlying illnesses. They included three residents in Dong Thap Province’s Sa Dec City and one in Long An Province, aged 44-74. Two men and one woman residing in Dong Thap were pronounced dead on July 8, while the woman in Long An died on July 9. To date, the country has had 123 Covid-19 deaths, with 88 recorded during the latest Covid-19 resurgence. In related news, Dong Nai Province this morning reported 93 suspected cases of Covid-19, reported the local media. According to the Dong Nai Center for Disease Control, these 93 cases raised this southern province’s Covid-19 cases to 376 in the latest outbreak. The provincial health authority said that many of the infections were found in labor-intensive companies such as Changshin Vietnam in Vinh Cuu District, Pouchen Vietnam in Bien Hoa City, Nam Yang in the Song May industrial park in Trang Bom District. The source of infection of these cases remains unknown. Among the active cases, four are in severe condition, adding that some coronavirus patients re-tested positive after having tested negative earlier. To cope with the worsening Covid-19 situation in Dong Nai, the Health Ministry gave the province guidelines on setting up 100 intensive care unit beds for severely-ill patients at the Dong Nai General Hospital and the Thong Nhat General Hospital. Also, medical workers from the Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital were dispatched to Dong Nai to assist the province in treating infected people. Dong Nai issued the stay-at-home order under the prime minister’s Directive 16 on July 9 and closed its major wet markets to stop the spread of the virus.