Vietnam reports 14,208 new COVID-19 cases, 550,996 in total

The new infections brought the country's total tally to 550,996, with 13,701 deaths, the ministry said.

Most of the community cases were detected in southern localities, including 7,310 in the epicenter Ho Chi Minh City, 3,966 in nearby Binh Duong province, and 945 in Dong Nai province. As many as 311,710 COVID-19 patients have so far recovered, up 10,253 from Monday, while over 22.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered nationwide, according to the ministry.

In a bid to soon control the epidemic situation, the Vietnamese capital Hanoi will conduct mass testing for all residents from Sept. 6 to 12 and accelerate vaccination against COVID-19, according to an official circular issued Monday by the municipal authorities. As of Tuesday, Vietnam has registered a total of 546,683 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases since the start of the current wave in late April, the ministry said.