HANOI, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) - Vietnam reported 9,706 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including 9,682 locally transmitted and 24 imported, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

The new infections brought the country's total tally to 746,678, with 18,400 deaths, the ministry said.

Most of the community cases were detected in southern localities, including 4,046 in the epicenter Ho Chi Minh City, 3,629 in Binh Duong province, and 996 in Dong Nai province.

As many as 516,449 patients have recovered, up 10,590 from Friday, while nearly 37.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered nationwide, according to the ministry.

As of Saturday, Vietnam has registered a total of 742,174 locally transmitted cases since the start of the current wave in late April, the ministry said.