HANOI, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -Vietnam recorded 319 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, down 14 from Friday, according to the Ministry of Health.

All the new cases were locally transmitted, said the ministry.

The new infections brought the total tally to 11,522,750. The Southeast Asian country reported no new deaths from the pandemic on Saturday, with the total fatalities staying at 43,179.

As of Saturday, 40 severe cases were in need of assisted breathing, and 10,610,217 COVID-19 patients, or over 92 percent of the total infections, have recovered, according to the ministry.

Approximately 265.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, including nearly 223.2 million shots on people aged 18 and above, said the ministry.

Vietnam has already recorded COVID-19 infections with Omicron BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.74 sub-variants and is accelerating the inoculation of its people with a fourth vaccine dose.