The 16 domestic cases, patients 3445-3454 and 3456-3461, were detected in quarantine facilities in Hung Yen (6), Da Nang (4), Bac Giang (3), Hanoi (2) and Vinh Phuc (1).

Monday saw the highest daily community transmissions of Covid-19 in Vietnam since the nation’s first outbreak more than a year ago at 125, with 78 cases confirmed in the morning, 31 at noon and 16 in the evening.

The imported case is "Patient 3455", a two-year-old girl in the northern province of Ninh Binh. She is being treated at the Cau Treo Regional General Hospital in central Ha Tinh Province after test results confirmed Sunday that she contracted the novel coronavirus.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said Monday that the U.K. Covid-19 variant is 1.7 times more contagious than previous strains. "The Indian variant is even faster since it can spread through the air. Therefore, we have to prepare for worse scenarios."

"While Covid-19 screening was previously done in the areas where the virus had just been detected, now we have been conducting mass testing even in the areas with no infections recorded for early detection and isolation to curb the spread of the virus," he added.

Vietnam has recorded 458 community transmissions in 26 cities and provinces since April 27 as the country experiences its most challenging Covid-19 outbreak yet.

 Le Nga