The donated items are 30 oxygen ventilators, 500,000 rapid test kits and 300,000 surgical masks.

They are now stored at the Cho Ray Hospital in HCMC before being distributed to pandemic fighting units.

"This support is a big material and spiritual motivation for Vietnam at this difficult time," Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son said.

Swiss Vice President Ignazio Cassis announced the donation of medical equipment at a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Vo Thi Anh Xuan last week during a two-day visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam has recorded over 242,000 local Covid-19 cases in the fourth coronavirus wave that struck the country late April.