All the new cases were closely linked to the outbreak at the Revival Ekklesia Mission Vietnam, a Christian congregation in HCM City’s Go Vap district, said Nguyen Tan Binh, head of the local health service.
As many as 3,028 people have been identified as F1 cases (i.e. in first-hand contact with infections) since the first case was detected at the religious sect on May 26.
Of the total, 2,527 people have tested negative, and 415 others are awaiting results. The virus has also spread to 20 out of 22 districts in the city, with 52 cases logged in Go Vap district, 23 in district 12, and 22 each in Binh Thanh, Tan Phu and Tan Binh districts, Binh said.
Without drastic measures put in place, the virus is likely to spread faster in the community as these districts are populous locations in HCM City, he warned.
He also cited the results of investigations, saying the religious sect has 55 members instead of 20 as it had previously announced. Some positive cases had made false statement, while some have yet to make health declaration.