Of the total, 10,152 community cases were detected through random testing or test screening.
Official data from the MoH also show that an addditional 10,944 patients were discharged from hospital, and 280 patients died of COVID-19 and underlying illnesses.
Hanoi capital continued to top localities in new infection numbers, registering 1,774 cases. Experts warned the capital is likely to face a high risk of COVID-19 spreading on a large scale during the coming New Year and Lunar New Year holidays unless it adopts measures to halt the spread of the virus.
Currently the city has requested food eateries in high-risk areas to offer takeaways and restricted large gatherings in public places.
Meanwhile, southern localities made up the most cases of the day, with Ca Mau recording 1,167 infections, followed by Tay Ninh Vinh Long, Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Thap, bac Lieu, Tra Vinh that reported hundreds of cases each.
Elsewhere, three central provinces of Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh and Thua Thien-Hue recorded most new cases during the past 24 hours, at 797, 555 and 395.
As of 06pm on December 23 Vietnam has detected 1,599,150 COVID-19 cases since the start of the first outbreak in January 2020, ranking 32nd out of 223 countries and territories worldwide.
Of the infected patients, 1,184,428 have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease.
As many as 30,531 patients have died of the virus, making up 1.9% of the total number of infections.
More than 142 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, with 64 million people getting their second shot and nearly 1.7 million people receiving their booster jab.
