By Phuong Nguyen and Khanh Vu
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's health ministry on Saturday reported 40 new coronavirus cases, taking total infections in the country to 586, with three deaths.
Most of the new cases are linked to hospitals in Danang city, where the country last week detected its first locally transmitted infections in more than three months.
The ministry said in a separate statement on Saturday that up to 800,000 visitors to Danang have left for other parts of the country since July 1, adding that more than 41,000 people have visited three hospitals in the city since.
Vietnam has also detected new coronavirus cases in other cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with links to Danang, a tourism hot spot.
Dr. Kidong Park, World Health Organisation representative in Vietnam, told Reuters in an emailed statement that Vietnam had been preparing for the possibility of wider community transmission, after the country reported its first case in January.
"The government has always been determined to ensure that its people are protected from COVID-19 by keeping the country’s relatively low number of cases and controlling the transmission within the community," Park said.
(This story has been refiled to remove word "local", paragraph 1)