HANOI, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam recorded 37 new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 infection between 6 p.m. local time Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 1,948 with 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

The new cases are all from the northern Hai Duong province, the country's largest COVID-19 hotspot at the moment, said the ministry, adding that they had been put under quarantine earlier and no longer posed any transmission risks to the community.

As many as 1,461 patients have been given the all-clear, and over 48,800 people are being quarantined and monitored, the ministry said.

On Jan. 28, Vietnam detected the first two COVID-19 cases in the community after a streak of nearly two months free of local transmissions.