Hanoi, Jun 18 (IANS): Vietnam reported 515 new Covid-19 infections on Thursday, the highest daily increase since the pandemic hit the country last year, according to its Ministry of Health.

The infections included 503 locally transmitted and 12 imported cases, bringing the total tally to 12,150, the ministry said.

Among the community cases, 495 were reported in quarantine facilities or lockdown areas. In terms of localities, 327 were detected in the northern epidemic hotspot Bac Giang province, 137 in the southern Ho Chi Minh City, and 13 in the southern Tien Giang province, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Most of them are contacts of previously confirmed cases or linked to the clusters of infections in the localities.

In a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Ho Chi Minh City, where nearly 1,200 new community cases have been reported in the ongoing outbreak, plans to administer over 800,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines for prioritized groups within one week starting from Saturday.

Nationwide, as many as 4,653 Covid-19 patients have so far recovered, up 63 from Wednesday, and nearly 182,500 people are being quarantined and monitored.

As of Thursday, Vietnam has registered a total of 10,483 domestically transmitted Covid-19 cases, including 8,913 detected since the start of the latest outbreak in late April, according to the health ministry.