According to Tran Thanh Duong, Deputy Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine, the number of infections in the country has increased by 5.2 times over the same period last year.

The fatal cases were reported in 17 provinces and cities with HCM City taking the lead (22), followed by Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Long An, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Quang Ngai.

Most of the deaths were children under five (96 percent).

Over the past week, 2,297 new cases of infection have occurred in 38 localities including one death in Binh Duong.

The Department of Preventive Medicine has predicted that the disease will become more complex in the next few months with the increasing number of infections and is likely to spread to many other provinces and cities.