There were 15,215 locally transmitted cases, a drop of 52 cases compared to the previous day.
Ben Tre posted the highest number of infections with 1,245, followed by Ca Mau with 1,071 and Ho Chi Minh City with 1,040. The capital city recorded 535 new cases.
Vietnam has so far documented 1,508,473 coronavirus infections, including 1,503,003 cases since the fourth wave of the pandemic hit the nation in late April.
On the day, the country saw 246 deaths from the disease. The death toll now hits 29,103, accounting for 2 percent of the total cases so far.
On December 17, a further 31,057 patients were given the all-clear, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,095,518.
According to the Ministry of Health’s report, 7,912 patients nationwide are in serious conditions, with 966 requiring invasive ventilation and 19 on life support (ECMO).
A total of 136,861,720 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Vietnam, with more than 60.17 million people now fully inoculated./.