HANOI (REUTERS) - Vietnam's Health Ministry reported 9,690 coronavirus infections on Sunday (Aug 8), a record daily increase and up from 7,334 cases on Saturday.

Most of the new infections were detected in the epicentre Ho Chi Minh City and the neighbouring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai, the ministry said.

Vietnam successfully contained the virus for much of last year but has since late April been faced with a surge in cases fuelled by the highly contagious Delta variant.

The country has recorded 210,405 Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began, with at least 3,397 deaths, according to the ministry's data.

Vietnam, with a population of 98 million, has so far administered nearly 8.9 million vaccine doses, but fewer than 900,000 people have been fully vaccinated.