151 cases were recorded in HCMC, 10 in Phu Yen, three in Hung Yen, two in Long An and one each in Tra Vinh, Hai Phong, Bac Giang and Bac Ninh.

In HCMC, 124 cases have been contained within quarantine zones and locked down areas while 27 others are being contact traced.

All the cases in Bac Ninh, Hai Phong and Hung Yen in the north, Phu Yen in the south central region, and Long An in the Mekong Delta are close contact cases.

The case in the northern province of Bac Giang, a 57-year-old woman, has already been contained in a locked down area.

The case in the Mekong Delta's Tra Vinh Province, a 30-year-old woman, returned from Binh Duong, a Covid hotspot neighboring HCMC.

Over two months into its fourth wave, the most challenging that Vietnam has encountered, the country has recorded 14,505 cases in 51 of its 63 cities and provinces. Friday's local tally so far is 317 cases.

Bac Giang still leads the case count with 5,709 infections, followed by HCMC with 4,573.

The country has vaccinated around 3.6 million people, including over 204,000 who have got two shots.