VIETNAM
NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 4 (Updated hourly)
15:44
Nearly 51,000 patients recover from COVID-19 in Vietnam
Vietnam has seen over 50,800
COVID-19 patients fully recover from the virus since the start of the
pandemic, according to the latest report announced by the Ministry of Health
on August 4. At present,
463 individuals are currently receiving intensive care treatment, with 20
others in critical condition and requiring ECMO support. Elsewhere, a
500-bed COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) centre in Ho Chi Minh City has
been put into operation. The number of ICU beds is expected to rise to 700
over the coming days as soon as the Ministry of Health provides additional
medical workers and equipment. In another
development, Trinh Hoai Duc Gymnasium in Dong Da district of Hanoi has been
converted into a vaccination site, one of 10 such locations dedicated to
vaccinating local residents. Hanoi has
just launched its largest-ever COVID-19 vaccination campaign, aiming to
inoculate more than 5.1 million people with the AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and
Moderna vaccines. This ongoing
vaccination phase is taking place from August 2 to August 5, or alternatively
until the allocated vaccines have been fully administered. The Ministry
of Health has meanwhile issued instructions relating to vaccine injections,
with all people set to get both doses of the same vaccine,
except for a mix of AstraZeneca and Pfizer. Vietnamese and Omani Deputy FMs hold phone talks Vietnamese
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu on August 3 held phone
talks with his Omani counterpart, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Ali Al Harthy, to
discuss bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual concern. Vietnamese
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu on August 3 held phone
talks with his Omani counterpart, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Ali Al Harthy, to
discuss bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual concern. Hieu
expressed his delight at the positive development in the friendly cooperation
relationship between the two countries over the past time, especially in the
field of economy. Despite
facing many difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral
trade turnover in the past two years has reached nearly 200 million USD
per year, an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to that of 2018, he said. Vietnam-Oman
Investment JSC has operated actively and is one of the bright spots in the
relationship between the two countries, Hieu noted. He asked the
Omani side to continue supporting Vietnam in overcoming consequences of
natural disasters, accessing vaccines and medical equipment for COVID-19
prevention and control. While
appreciating Vietnam's achievements in politics, external relations and
socio-economic development, Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs Al Harthy
affirmed that Oman always attaches importance to promoting multifaceted
cooperation with the Southeast Asian country. The two
deputy ministers held that the potential for bilateral cooperation between
Vietnam and Oman remains huge. Given
complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two sides exchanged
and agreed on measures to strengthen and improve the efficiency of
collaboration between the two countries in the coming time, including
enhancing online communication between leaders of ministries and sectors,
closely coordinating at international forums and organisations and
effectively maintaining existing cooperation mechanisms such as the
Intergovernmental Committee, the political consultation between the two foreign
ministries. They also
pledged to step up cooperation in COVID-19 prevention and control
and emphasised the need to coordinate in organising online investment and
trade promotion activities, providing information, connecting businesses, and
enhancing partnerships in agriculture and seaports. The
negotiations and signing of cooperation agreements, even via videoconference,
would be sped up to accomplish the legal framework for bilateral cooperation,
they said. The two
sides also exchanged views on a number of regional and international issues
of common interest./. Vietnam wants to work closely with the US in settling war
aftermaths: official The
consequence of bombs, mines and toxic chemicals left by war in Vietnam is an
urgent issue that has been threatening people's lives and causing a serious
effect on the country’s sustainable development goals, a senior official has
said. Deputy
Minister of National Defence Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien
made the remarks at a webinar on “Overcoming the consequences of war, moving
forward together" which was organised by the United States Institute of
Peace (USIP) on August 3. Chien said
he hoped that the US authorities will continue to cooperate more
closely with Vietnam in dealing with war aftermaths. The deputy
minister emphasised the need for the two sides to identify new and
breakthrough solutions to promote more effective and faster collaboration
activities in overcoming the consequences of landmines and toxic
chemicals/dioxins. In the
immediate future, it is necessary to continue to mobilise resources to
accelerate the detoxification process of the entire Bien Hoa airport area and
seek more appropriate methods to provide medical care and employment for
victims of Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam, he said. The clearance of unexploded
bombs and mines in Vietnam should be sped up, to clean up from
500,000-700,000 ha per year. Chien
affirmed that he would direct Vietnamese relevant agencies to closely
coordinate with each other and with US partners to effectively implement
important cooperation contents between Vietnam and the US. Speaking at
the webinar, Lise Grande, president of the United States Institute of Peace
said the event was an opportunity for US and Vietnamese agencies, managers,
scientists and experts to identify future orientations to promote cooperation
between the two sides in overcoming the consequences of landmines and toxic
chemicals, along with collaboration in searching for soldiers missing in
action in Vietnam. US Senator
Patrick Leahy appreciated the cooperation between the two countries in the
past time. He said
during the visit to Vietnam by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on July
29, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on gathering and
searching for remains of Vietnamese soldiers missing in the war, adding that
it opened up a new chapter in the cooperation in overcoming war aftermaths
between the two countries. 100-day battle against fourth COVID-19 wave Today marks
100-day battle against Delta variant with over 170.000 local infections in 62
cities and provinces, including 48,057 recoveries and 2,036 fatalities.  World Bank helps Vietnam to set up National Road Safety
Observatory The World
Bank (WB) in Vietnam on August 3 published a final report of Road Safety
Data Assessment in Vietnam for the establishment of a National Road Safety
Observatory (NRSO). The report
is part of a strategic partnership programme between the Australian
Government and the WB on a series of analytical reports on Vietnam's
transport industry. According to
the report, the WB has been assisting the Government of Vietnam, through the
National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), in improving its road accident data
system, establish a NRSO and update the National Road Safety Strategy and
Action Plan for Vietnam. With
financial support from the WB during the 2005-2012 period, a National Road
Traffic Accident Database System (NRADS) has been developed, which includes
data from 63 provinces and cities across the country, managed by the Traffic
Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security. The report's
findings highlighted the need to strengthen state management and restructure
road traffic safety data systems. Despite many
efforts has been paid, thousands of deaths are recorded every year due to
road traffic accidents, it said. According to
the Traffic Police Department, in the first six months of the year, there
were 6,340 traffic accidents nationwide which killed 3,192 people and injured
4,475 others. Most of the accidents occurred on roads with 6,278 cases
resulting in 3,147 deaths and 4,465 injuries. To improve
the situation, the WB recommended that Vietnam establish a specialised agency
to manage road traffic safety and build a comprehensive database on road
safety. According to
the WB, the development of a database on traffic accidents by the Ministry of
Public Security is a great step forward, but it needs to be integrated with
the road database of the Ministry of Transport. It is
necessary for the Ministry of Health to build a database on traffic
accident injuries, which is linked to the above databases. The WB
estimates that it takes four years with a budget of nearly 2 million USD to
build and put into operation the NRSO and the National Road Traffic Safety
Portal. Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption to meet on August
5 The Central
Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption will convene its 20th meeting on
August 5. The meeting
holds significance as it is the first gathering of the committee in the 13th
tenure of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, and takes place
amid the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the
efforts to combat the pandemic and maintain socio-economic development,
attention has been paid to the fight against corruption in line with
instructions of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also head of
the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption. The leader
has called for higher political resolve, and stronger, more drastic and
effective actions against corruption, saying the work must be done
resolutely, persistently and continuously at all sectors and agencies. During the
upcoming meeting, the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption will
look into a draft report on the implementation of its working programme in
the first half of this year, and tasks for the second half. The
committee will also mull over results of the settlement of cases under its
monitoring, and other documents regarding its operation. Vietnamese Olympic team set for homecoming on August 4 The
Vietnamese sports team will return to the country on August 4 after
completing their participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Japan. This comes
following several athletes returning to the country on July 30 after
competing in the taekwondo, weightlifting, shooting, judo, and rowing events. The national
sports team concluded their journey at the Olympics after Quach Thi Lan
failed to enter the finals in the women’s 400m hurdles after clocking a time
of 56.78, finishing 18th among a total of 24 competitors. The country
sent 18 athletes to compete in 11 sports during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which
is taking place in Japan from July 23 to August 8. However, local athletes
failed to win a medal in their prospective sports, including weightlifting,
boxing, and rowing. Tran Duc
Phan, head of the Vietnamese team, said there were only a few competitors
able to successfully qualify for the Olympics, including swimmer Nguyen Huy
Hoang, with some athletes competing in the games as wild card entries. The global
sporting occasion therefore showed that there is still a massive gap between
Vietnamese athletes and those in the rest of the world, Phan noted. Vietnam’s army team arrives in Russia for International Army
Games A delegation
of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) arrived in Moscow, Russia, on August 3
morning (Russia time) to compete in the 2021 International Army Games, to be
held later this month. The
Vietnamese team comprises nearly 200 officers and soldiers. It will join
various events, including Tank Biathlon, Safe Route, Sea Cup, True Friend,
Sniper Frontier, Gunsmith Master, Masters of Artillery Fire, Clear Sky, Safe
Environment, Military Medical Relay Race, and Field Kitchen. Participants
of the True Friend category will travel to Algeria for the competition. Head of the
Vietnamese delegation Maj. Gen. Pham Van Thai, Deputy Director of the
Department of Military Training under the VPA’s General Staff, said that all
members are ready for the Games and determined to achieve the best results. The 2021
International Army Games will kick off on August 22 across 12 host countries
and territories. A total of 277 teams from more than 40 countries and
territories are expected to compete in 36 categories this year. This is the
fourth time Vietnam has participated in the competition. It also marks the
first time the country has hosted sniper and rescue events of the Games. The Vietnam
People’s Navy has also sent a fleet comprising frigates 015-Tran Hung Dao and
016-Quang Trung to take part in the Sea Cup event for the first time. All of the
team members have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and test negative
with the virus. Vietnam on right track to combat COVID-19, says WHO
representative Vietnam is
on the right track to combat the fresh coronavirus outbreak with drastic
measures in place, said World Health Organisation (WHO) Vietnam
Representative Kidong Park. The World
Health Organisation in Vietnam is ready to work alongside the Government of
Vietnam and the Ministry of Health in this fight, he assured Minister Long. Vietnam has
adopted restrictive measures to combat the spread of the Delta variant which
was reported in almost all cities and provinces across the country. A number
of localities have imposed social distancing rules with restrictive measures
in place to halt the virus spreading in the community. However, a
surge in infection numbers has put the health sector under great pressure. The Ministry
of Health has decided to establish many intensive care unit (ICU) centres in
southern localities, including five in HCM City, to treat severely and
critically ill patients. It has also
dispatched a contingent of professionals and healthcare workers to southern
provinces to assist with contact tracing, testing and treatment of COVID-19
patients. In addition,
Vietnam is speeding up vaccinations to increase the vaccine coverage, but
vaccine supply is still the biggest challenge at the moment. Acknowledging
Vietnam's drastic measures, Dr. Park especially highly appreciated the fact
that the Ministry of Health has urgently established ICU centres in Ho Chi
Minh City and other southern provinces to treat severely and critically ill
patients aimed at reducing the mortality rate. He said the
WHO stays ready to support the Ministry of Health in enhancing professional
training for staff and infection prevention measures for healthcare workers. The WHO
representative also affirmed that all COVID-19 vaccines approved by the WHO
are safe and effective. He said the WHO will assist the Ministry of Health to
enhance the capacity building of testing, evaluation and licensing of
domestically produced vaccines meeting WHO-run National Regulatory Authority
(NRA) regulations. Support to pandemic-hit groups updated daily on gov't
information reporting system Statistics
regarding the support to people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic have been
updated daily at https://baocaochinhphu.gov.vn/ioc/, according to the Government
Office. The support
has been provided to employees and employers affected by the pandemic in line
with Resolution No. 68/NQ-CP and Decision No. 23/2021/QD-TTg. Through the
system, relevant agencies at the district level will send daily reports from
2pm to 4pm, which will be collected and submitted to provincial People’s
Committees by district People’s Committees from 4pm to 4:30pm. The
provincial People’s Committees will forward the statistics to the Ministry of
Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) from 4:30pm to 5pm. Up to 3,667
system accounts have been opened for relevant agencies and localities. Notably, the
system will automatically send monthly reports to the MoLISA, the Ministry of
Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the State Bank of Vietnam,
and the Prime Minister./. Vietnam reports 4,271 new COVID-19 cases on August 4 morning Vietnam
logged 4,271 new COVID-19 infections from 7pm on August 3 to 6am on August 4,
including four imported cases, according to the Ministry of Health. Ho Chi Minh
City, the country's current largest pandemic hotspot, still recorded the
biggest number of new infections with 2,365, followed by neighbouring Binh
Duong province (1,032), Tay Ninh (194), Dong Nai (164) and Long An (146). Of the
number, 1,044 cases were detected in the community. The national
tally had reached 174,461 as of August 4, including 2,328 imported cases. The
number of infections since the fourth wave of outbreak hit Vietnam on April
27 amounted to 170,563. As many as
50,830 patients have recovered from COVID-19. On August 3,
405,884 doses of COVID-19 vaccine were administered, raising the total number
to 7.29 million. As many as 744,331 people have fully received two shots. On the day,
the MoH received 415,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by the
UK government. PM proposes presenting Feat Order to police officer who dies on
duty
Senior
Lieutenant Phan Tan Tai, of the drug crime investigation police team under
the city’s Department of Public Security, and his colleagues found a man
violating COVID-19 prevention and control regulations on August 2 night as he
was out on the street unnecessarily. Suspecting
the man had used drugs illegally, Tai and his colleagues asked him to go to
the police headquarters for further procedures. But, the man sped on his
motorbike to run away. The officer
was killed in an accident on the way to chase the runaway, which has been
supposed to be deliberately caused by the man, who was then identified as a
drug addict. Hanoi’s biggest wholesale market suspended due to Covid-19 The whole
Long Bien Market, Hanoi’s biggest wholesale market, has been locked down
after one more Covid-19 case related to the market was confirmed. Under the
decision of Phuc Xa Ward’s authorities, the closure started from 1 pm on
Tuesday will last until further notice. The Covid-19
patient is a person who often delivers ice for the market’s seafood traders
to preserve their products. On July 28, he had a cough and fever. He then
tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. On Saturday,
the market’s seafood area was locked down after a seafood trader who is from
Thanh Tri District was confirmed positive for Covid-19. Local
authorities then traced 260 people related to the patient but all of them
tested negative for Covid-19 for the first time. Long Bien
Market is home to around 1,200 traders. Recently,
Hanoi has temporarily shut many big markets because of Covid-19 infections.
On July 27, Hoang Mai District closed the South wholesale market after an egg
trader tested positive for Covid-19. Meanwhile, Phung Khoang Market in Nam Tu
Liem District and Minh Khai in Bac Tu Liem District were also closed on
Monday. Regarding
Covid-19 infections in Thanh Nga Food Company, the meat supplier for VinMart
chain, dozens of VinMart supermarkets and stores in Hanoi have also been
suspended for Covid-19 prevention. HCMC begins 6th phase of Covid-19 vaccination drive HCMC has
proposed the Government to allocate 5-5.5 million doses of vaccine for the
sixth phase of the city’s Covid-19 vaccination program that begins today and
runs until the end of August. The city has set the target of administering
vaccine to Southern metropolis’s residents above 18 years old in August. The
statement was made by Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of HCMC Duong
Anh Duc at a press conference held by the HCMC Steering Committee for
Covid-19 prevention and control on August 3. According to
statistics, HCMC has around seven million people aged 18 years and over. Two
million of these people received Covid-19 vaccine shots. The city has
at present 800,000 individuals who will get the second shots of AstraZeneca
vaccine, and 200,000 people will receive the second shots of Moderna vaccine
by the end of this month, he said. HCMC has
deployed 1,200 vaccination teams. If each unit delivers 250 shots per day,
the city could reach a target of 300,000 shots a day, even the larger number
of 350,000 shots per day with a plentiful supply of vaccines, Mr. Duc
stressed. Regarding to
one million doses of Vero Cell vaccines against Covid-19 produced by China’s
Sinopharm arrived in HCMC on July 31, the Vice Chairman of the municipal
People’s Committee said that these vaccine doses have been sent to the
functional departments of the Ministry of Health for evaluation of its
standards for effectiveness, safety and quality. The
vaccination is voluntary. Everyone will get the vaccine after they give
informed consent, he emphasized. To be
approved for use, Covid-19 vaccines must meet two requirements that they have
been granted emergency use authorizations by the World Health Organization
(WHO) and Vietnam. HCMC has
currently Covid-19 vaccines approved for use including AstraZeneca, Moderna,
Pfizer and Sinopharm’s Vero Cell. Sinopharm's
Vero Cell Covid-19 vaccine was approved by WHO and Vietnam on May 7 and June
3 respectively, he added. Speaking at
the meeting, Vice Chairman of the City People’s Committe Duong Anh Duc said
that according to data released by the HCMC Health Department, the fifth
phase of HCMC’s Covid-19 vaccination program gave 920,329 doses of vaccines
consisting of AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Pfizer that were distributed by the
Ministry of Health from July 22 to August 3. 1,039 people had mild allergic
reactions after vaccination and received immediate appropriate medical
treatment. As of
present, the city received 2.5 million doses of vaccines. About two million
people have been vaccinated with one jab and 70,000 people have fully got two
shots. Covid-19 information portal of HCMC DIC formally launched Taxation body to launch e-tax application for mobile devices
this month The General
Department of Taxation plans to debut its e-tax application for mobile
devices, Etax-mobile, in August to facilitate taxpayers particularly amid the
complicated developments of COVID-19. The country
has so far seen 99 percent of enterprises using electronic tax services. The
proportion is much lower among individuals due to inconvenient support software,
hence the department’s development of Etax-mobile In the
immediate future, Etax-mobile will be provided for individual use on iOS and
Android platforms. In addition
to supporting functions provided on the e-tax system via the web platform,
the application will provide enhanced user experience services, additional
search functions, links to banks’ payment applications. The
department said that, with 60 million individuals having tax codes, the use
of Etax-mobile will help taxpayers easily access related administrative
procedures and communicate with tax authorities. They can transparently and
conveniently fulfill their tax obligations anywhere. UNESCO launches campaign to promote girls’ education The United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Vietnam
on August 3 launched the campaign #KeepingGirlsinthePicture - "For a
future picture with girls", calling on the community to share
inspirational stories to encourage ethnic minority students, especially
girls, to continue their studies after the pandemic ends. According to
UNESCO, the COVID-19 pandemic has closed schools and caused the largest
disruption of education in history. More than 1.5 billion students are
affected by the pandemic worldwide, of which more than 767 million are girls. The
organisation estimated that more than 11 million female students – from
preschool to university – might not return to school last year. This
alarming number not only threatens progress on gender equality which has been
achieved over the decades but also puts girls at risk of child labour, forced
marriage and victims of various forms of violence. The global
campaign #KeepingGirlsinthePicture - "For a future picture with
girls" aims to ensure that girls' learning is not disrupted during school
closures, promoting a safe environment for them when educational institutions
reopen and calls for efforts to protect the progress made in their education. In Vietnam,
the campaign is implemented within the framework of the project "We are
able (Achieving a better living and education)", which is implemented by
UNESCO in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training and the
National Assembly’s Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs, with the support
of CJ Group of the Republic of Korea. It aims to improve access to education
of ethnic minority girls in Ha Giang, Ninh Thuan, and Soc Trang provinces. UNESCO has
launched the communication campaign on social networks by collecting and
spreading stories from the community about the importance of education in
life. The stories will be shared and posted on the fan page "UNESCO
Office in Vietnam" to spread positive things to the community, towards
the goal of "keeping girls in the picture". Interested
person can send their stories in Vietnamese within 500 to 800 words, along
with an illustrated photo to the email address: hanoi@unesco.org until
September 5, 2021./. New road to cut travel time between HCM City, Đồng Nai Construction
of the 9.4km-long Road 319, which will improve goods transport between
industrial parks in Đồng Nai Province and HCM City, is expected to be
completed by the end of this month after nearly four years of
construction. The road is
being built under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) form with a total
investment of more than VNĐ960 billion (US$41.7 million). It starts at
Phước Thiền Commune in the southern province’s Nhơn Trạch District, and ends
at an intersection at the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway
between Đồng Nai and HCM City. It will have
four lanes, including four new bridges and an overpass. A
6-booth BOT toll station is being built for toll
fee collection. When
completed, the route will help shorten travel time from Nhơn Trạch to the
city, and ease traffic pressure on National
Highway No 51 which is becoming overcrowded. Congestion
has become increasingly worse on both the HCM City-Long Thành-Dầu Giây
Expressway and the section of National Highway No 51 to HCM City
during peak hours and holidays. The Ministry
of Transport has approved widening a 24km section of the HCM City-Long
Thành-Dầu Giây Expressway to 10 lanes from its current four lanes. The section
running from HCM City’s District 2 to Long Thành Town in Đồng Nai will be
widened and completed by 2030. The widening
will ease traffic flows when the ongoing Long Thành International
Airport in Đồng Nai opens by 2025. Đồng Nai
will build four routes leading to the airport, aiming to ease overloading
on national highways No 1A and No 20, and the Dầu Giây intersection. It also
plans to expand and upgrade seven routes in order to facilitate the transport
of goods among 32 industrial parks in the province. Hanoi military tests bikes for disinfecting areas Soldiers
from the Military Command Board of Hanoi’s Nam Tu Liem District are using
motorbikes for disinfecting areas.According to the district’s Military
Command Board, using motorbikes for disinfection is more convenient and
effective for many sealed-off areas in Hanoi, particularly in narrow alleys. A motorbike
can carry up to three sprayers which are enough to disinfect around 500
metres of road, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel, head of the board. Each
motorbike only needs one driver, helping to save human resources. After
piloting the vehicle, the board will report to the Hanoi Military Command.
Once approved, it is expected to be widely applied in the city. Former intelligence official prosecuted for taking bribe The Supreme
People’s Procuracy has issued an indictment in a bribery case involving
Phan Van Anh Vu and former deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security's
General Department of Intelligence Nguyen Duy Linh. In the case,
Linh was prosecuted for receiving bribes, while former Chairman of the Bac
Nam 79 Construction JSC Phan Van Anh Vu was prosecuted for “giving
bribes”, and Ho Huu Hoa, 37, residing in the central province of Nghe An, for
“brokering bribes”. According to
the indictment, in mid-2017, Vu was under investigation for violations in a
case of intentionally leaking State secrets, along with other illegal
acts related to the purchase, sale and transfer of public houses and land in
the central city of Da Nang and other localities. Vu tried to
access Linh through Hoa for help and information related to the cases.
Later, Vu fled to Singapore after being informed by Linh that he could be
detained and prosecuted. Investigators
found that Linh received a bribe worth up to 5 billion VND (217,000 USD)
through Hoa from Vu./. Government to cut costs of electricity, water, and telecommunications
for citizens Customers
using more than 200kWh a month are entitled to a 10 per cent discount. The
support will be available for bills in the two months of August and
September. The size of
the support package is expected to be about VND2.5 trillion ($108.7 million). In addition,
apart from the free medical isolation facilities, electricity bills have also
been waived for paid medical isolation facilities for seven months (from June
to December). After the
proposal of reducing electricity costs, deputy prime minister Le Minh Khai
requested related agencies to consider reducing the cost of clean water for
daily life and telecommunications charges to help affected people. This is the
fourth support for electricity bills since the beginning of 2020. According to
for statistics from the MoIT, the first support implemented from April 16,
2020 to the end of July 16, 2020 helped 27 million beneficiaries with a total
reduction of about VND9.3 trillion ($404.35 million). The second
support, implemented from October to December 2020, had 25.4 million
beneficiaries with a total reduction of nearly VND3 trillion ($130.43
million). The third one is estimated at about VND1.3 trillion ($56.5
million). 21 cities
and provinces nationwide have implemented social distancing according to
Directive 16. Health Ministry allocates over 650,000 more COVID-19 vaccine
doses to HCM City The Health
Ministry on August 3 allocated 659,500 doses
of COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccine which were bought from
AstraZeneca by VNVC, to Ho Chi Minh City. The
allocated vaccines are part of the more than 1 million doses freshly
delivered to Vietnam. Another 414,880
doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, donated by the UK Government, are given to
Hanoi. The same
day, the ministry adjusted an earlier decision on allocating COVID-19
vaccines for the 16th time, giving HCM City 319,000 more doses and Hanoi an
additional 284,000 doses. With the
latest provision, Ho Chi Minh City has so far received the most COVID-19
vaccines among localities in the country with 4,075,270 doses, including
those allocated to centrally-run institutes, hospitals and agencies based in
the city. There are an
estimated 7 million people aged 18 and above in HCM City. The city has
administered around 2 million doses so far. Therefore, in order to vaccinate
70 percent of its population to achieve herd immunity, the city needs about
5.5 million more doses./. HCM City establishes more field hospitals, targets 4m
vaccinations in August Part of Từ
Dũ maternity hospital and the entire Saigon General Hospital, both in HCM
City’s District 1, have been converted into field hospitals with a total of
350 beds for Covid-19 treatment, according to city authorities. The city,
the country’s pandemic epicentre, has recorded more than 100,000 cases since
the fourth COVID outbreak began at the end of April. The Từ Dũ
facility will have 150 beds. The Saigon
General Hospital field hospital on Lê Lợi Street will use the entire existing
infrastructure of the facility, which has 200 beds besides 300 medical
professionals. Nearly 40
hospitals with a total capacity of 55,000 beds are treating COVID patients
based on the five-level model, with the fifth referring to treating patients
who are critically ill. On
Monday a team of doctors and medical personnel from the
central-level Huế Central Hospital, led by its director and deputy
director, left for HCM City to set up an ICU there for COVID treatment. A lot of
equipment, supplies and medicines for severe cases accompanied them. The facility
they will set up with 500 beds will be in Tân Phú District and start
functioning within a few days. In a related
move, doctors and medical personnel from other two central-level facilities,
Hà Nội’s Việt Đức and Bạch Mai hospitals, will also set up two ICUs with a
total of 2,500 beds in the city, according to the Ministry of Health. HCM
City-based Chợ Rẫy Hospital already operates a 1,000-bed ICU at the HCM City
Oncology Hospital in Thủ Đức City. The city has
sought continued vaccination priority from the Ministry of Health to achieve
its goal of immunising 70 per cent of its population aged over 18 by the end
of August. Dương Anh
Đức, vice chairman of the People’s Committee, said the city has so far
administered more than 1.7 million doses, mostly to people in the priority
list such as those over 65 years or with underlying conditions. The city
plans to accelerate the progress of vaccination, and targets more than 4
million doses by the end of August. For the
purpose, it has allowed people aged over 65 or with chronic medical
conditions to get vaccinated at mobile facilities instead of at only
hospitals and treatment facilities. Đức has said
everyone above 18 would be vaccinated. The city has a population of 13
million of whom 6.99 million are over 18. To speed up
the task, the city plans to set up mobile vaccination facilities and carry
out the task even at night. On Monday
nearly 538,490 people were vaccinated, the highest in a single day so far,
taking the total number to nearly 6,959,200, with 712,860 people fully
vaccinated. If the
number – in the city -- reaches 500,000 doses a day or more, Việt Nam is
likely to complete the target of herd immunity by the end of 2021, according
to the ministry. The number
of infections since the fourth wave began at the end of April is nearly
170,000, with HCM City accounting for more than 100,000. New vaccination centre opens in Lâm Đồng Province The Việt Nam
Vaccination Joint Stock Company has set up a vaccination centre on National
Route No 20 in Central Highlands Lâm Đồng Province’s Đức Trọng District. It is its
57th centre. According to
Phạm Ngọc Khoa Nguyên, director of the centre, it is the first such
large centre in the province, and can handle 500-1,000 people a day. It helps
save people the effort and cost of travelling to Đà Lạt City for shots. It also
targets vaccinating ethnic people living in remote areas. In the
mountainous terrain, which hampers travel, especially in remote areas where
many ethnic minorities live, the centre is expected to help prevent certain
infectious diseases. With its
good storage practice (GSP) standard vaccine warehouse, the centre can store
many vaccines in large quantities. Nguyên said
all the vaccines are genuine and imported from leading corporations in the
country and world. Lam Dong to break ground on ring road project in Dalat The Lam Dong
Department of Transport has announced the construction of a ring road and
infrastructure components in Dalat City, with a total investment of VND800
billion. Of the total
capital sourced from the provincial budget, over VND350 billion will be used
for construction work, VND309 billion for site clearance and compensation,
and the rest for other costs. The ring
road will be 7.5 kilometers long and 10 meters wide, and run through the
wards of 3, 4 and 5, starting at Truc Lam Yen Tu Street and ending at the
Hoang Van Thu-Nguyen Dinh Quan Intersection. The ring
road and infrastructure project, whose main investor is the Lam Dong
Department of Transport, will be completed and opened to traffic in late
June, 2023, the local media reported. The Lam Dong
Management Board of Investment and Construction of Traffic Projects was tasked
with managing the project, while the Sub-Institute of Transport Science and
Technology in central Vietnam will act as a supervision consultant. The project
will be constructed by a consortium comprising Investment Consulting and
Construction 18 JSC, Thang Dat Company, Nam Phan Company and 26/3 General
Construction Company. Once in
place, the project will help complete the traffic infrastructure system in
Dalat City and strengthen the city’s connection with other provinces and
cities. Besides, the
ring road is expected to help ease traffic congestion in Dalat City. HCMC cancels second round of national high school exam The HCMC
government announced on August 1 that the second round of its national high
school graduation exam, which was initially slated for August 5-7, will be
canceled due to the worsening Covid-19 situation. All students
that are eligible for the second round of the exam will be cleared by the
HCMC Department of Education and Training, following regulations from the
Ministry of Education and Training. The department has asked all high schools
in the city to inform the eligible candidates about their granted privilege. The national
high school graduation exam is traditionally organized in July for 12th-grade
students in Vietnam’s K-12 system. This year’s exam is divided into two
rounds. The first
round took place on July 7-8 for the majority of candidates, while the second
round is for students who were unable to finish their tests in the first
round because of the pandemic. Data of the
HCMC Department of Education and Training showed that over 3,230 students in
the city were not able to take part in the first round of the national high
school exam due to the Covid-19 pandemic. There were
88,245 students registering for the exam in the first round, but only 82,978
of them, or 94.03%, attended. HCM City: enterprises donate medical supplies, equipment for
COVID-19 treatment The Vietnam
Fatherland Front Committee of HCM City on August 2 handed over
medical supplies and equipment donated by enterprises to local hospitals and
medical centres to support the city’s COVID-19 prevention and control. The
Phú Long Real Estate JSC presented five high-performance ventilators
MV2000 EVO5 worth VNĐ2.5 billion (US$108,755) to An Bình COVID-19 treatment
hospital, and donated VNĐ1.7 billion ($74,000) to the city’s Oriental
Medicine Association. Since the
fourth wave of COVID-19 hitting the country in late April, the Phú Long
JSC and member companies of the SOVICO Group have donated hundreds of
billions of Vietnamese đồng to the national vaccine fund, and
COVID-19 prevention and control activities in Hà Nội, HCM City, Hải Dương,
Bắc Giang, Lạng Sơn, and Cần Thơ. Chairman of
the Saigon Football Development JSC Hồ Quốc Minh presented a Ford Ranger
car and 600 1000-Ul tips with sterile filter worth VNĐ835 million in total to
the 115 Emergency Centre and the municipal Centre for Disease Control,
respectively, on the same day afternoon. Vietnamese
expatriates in Thailand and the US also gave 100,000 TS95 masks to the
municipal People's Council to support the city's frontline forces in the
fight against COVID-19. From July 1
to August 2, more than 103 organisations, businesses and individuals
registered to donate medical supplies and modern equipment worth more than
VNĐ1.4 trillion in response to the call by the VFF Committee of HCM
City. In the
coming time, the Standing Committee of the VFF Committee of HCM
City will continue to coordinate with the municipal Department of Health and
its member organisations to call for donations from businesses and
individuals for the city’s COVID-19 prevention and control activities. HCM City: enterprises donate medical supplies, equipment serving
COVID-19 treatment
The Vietnam
Fatherland Front Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on August 2 handed over
medical supplies and equipment donated by enterprises to local hospitals and
medical centres to support the city’s COVID-19 prevention and control. The Phu Long
Real Estate JSC presented five high-performance ventilators MV2000 EVO5 worth
2.5 billion VND (108,755 USD) to An Binh COVID-19 treatment hospital, and
donated 1.7 billion VND (74,000 USD) to the city’s Oriental Medicine
Association. Since the
fourth wave of COVID-19 hitting the country in late April, the Phu Long JSC
and member companies of the SOVICO Group have donated hundreds of billions of
Vietnamese dong to the national vaccine fund, and COVID-19 prevention and
control activities in Hanoi, HCM City, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Lang Son, and
Can Tho. Chairman of
the Saigon Football Development JSC Ho Quoc Minh presented a Ford Ranger car
and 600 1000-Ul tips with sterile filter worth 835 million VND in total to
the 115 Emergency Centre and the municipal Centre for Disease Control,
respectively, on the same day afternoon. Vietnamese
expatriates in Thailand and the US also gave 100,000 TS95 masks to the
municipal People's Council to support the city's frontline forces in the
fight against COVID-19. From July 1
to August 2, more than 103 organisations, businesses and individuals
registered to donate medical supplies and modern equipment worth more than
1.4 trillion VND in response to the call by the VFF Committee of HCM City. In the
coming time, the Standing Committee of the VFF Committee of HCM City will
continue to coordinate with the municipal Department of Health and its member
organisations to call for donations from businesses and individuals for the
city’s COVID-19 prevention and control activities./. Health ministry told Nanogen to submit human trials data to
health ministry before August 15 for reviews The health
ministry on Monday asks HCM City-based biopharmaceutical company Nanogen,
developer of the Vietnamese COVID-19 vaccine Nano Covax, to submit results of
phase 2 and initial phase 3 trials to be reviewed for emergency
approval. Deputy
health minister Trần Văn Thuấn, leader of the ministry’s special task force
on clinical trials and development of COVID-19 vaccines, made the request
during a progress meeting with experts, as the country deals with a severe
fourth wave of infections while vaccine supply is still limited amid a global
shortage. The meeting
included leaders of the Department of Science and Technology-Training (under
the health ministry), the Military Medical Academy, the National Institute of
Hygiene and Epidemiology, and the Pasteur Institute in HCM City and was held
to review the current progress and find ways to facilitate the clinical
trials and push for reports on data of phase 1, 2, 3 (a, b) of the Nano Covax
vaccine. Phase 3
trials are being conducted with 13,000 volunteers, divided into two phases,
3a with 1,000 people and 3b with 12,000 people. 13,000 first
doses in phase 3 have been administered, with the second dose expected to be
completed before mid-August, according to the company. Surrogate
virus neutralisation tests (sVNT) for the 1,000 people involved in phase 3a,
revealed 100 per cent production of neutralising antibodies at levels
higher than 30 per cent, but further monitoring is needed. In tandem
with applying for conditional approval for emergency use, Nanogen is also
requesting the health ministry to consider phase 3c trials, which would
involve 500,000 to 1 million volunteers. Trials of the vaccine on children
12-18 years old would be conducted once the full approval is obtained. Deputy
minister Thuấn said the ministry is anticipating the domestically researched
and manufactured COVID-19 vaccine will help protect the health and lives of
the Vietnamese people, be more proactive in vaccine rollout and reduce dependency
on foreign vaccine imports. “The good
news is the [Nano Covax] vaccine seems to be safe and can elicit high level
of [SARS-CoV-2] neutralising antibodies," he said. "But we have not
yet had enough data on the protective properties of the vaccine, more time
and more study is needed." The Ministry
of Health has always supported and created the most favourable conditions for
companies and individuals to participate in the production of COVID-19
vaccines, having mobilised many industry-leading scientists in the country's
to participate in the assessment of vaccines. The health
official wants Nanogen to submit a report on research results for phase 2 and
initial phase 3, so that the National Ethics Committee in Biomedical Research
could start evaluation for emergency approval for Nano Covax. Gov’t establishes National Disaster Management Fund The
Government has promulgated Decree No.78/2021/ND-CP on establishment of Viet
Nam Disaster Management Fund (VDMF) placed under direct management by the
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The fund is
a single-member limited liability company in which the State holds 100
percent of charter capital. Viet Nam is
one of the countries most affected by natural disasters and climate change.
Storms and floods are the most frequent and severe natural disasters
affecting the Southeast Asian country, with 6 to 7 typhoons every year, on
average, according to the United Nations Development Program in Viet Nam Between 1990
and 2010, 74 floods have occurred in the river systems. Severe drought,
saline water intrusion, landslides and other natural disasters are hindering
the national development process. Extreme
disasters are more frequent in recent years, causing more damage to people
and impacting significantly on the economy. Natural
disasters like storms, floods and drought caused damage worth VND37.4
trillion (US$1.6 billion) in 2020, five times compared to the previous year's
losses, said the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention
and Control./. Bình Dương launches two new COVID-19 treatment areas as
infections rise Two new
COVID-19 treatment areas were launched in Bình Dương on Tuesday amid
complicated developments of the pandemic in the southern province. The two
areas have a total capacity of 8,300 beds. They are both located in Bến Cát
Town and were built in only a week, according to the province’s Steering
Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control. One of them
is called the Thới Hòa COVID-19 treatment area. It has 5,300 beds, with 2,200
of them equipped with fixed oxygen ventilators. It is a
subsidiary of the Bình Dương COVID-19 treatment hospital No 1. Besides
medical equipment, it is also equipped with modern digital management
software and high-speed Wifi, which will help to ensure transparent and
effective management and give the best care to patients. The other is
called the Bình Dương field hospital No 3, which is on the campus of the Việt
Nam-Germany University, with a capacity of 3,000 beds. It is a
newly-built campus which has not gone into operation, and is now reserved for
COVID-19 treatment. Speaking at
the launch ceremony, Mai Hùng Dũng, standing vice chairman of Bình Dương
People’s Committee, said that the reason the number of new patients in Bình
Dương rose drastically in the last few days was because a lot of community
infections were identified. Field
hospitals and treatment areas played an important role in fighting the
pandemic in the southern province at the moment, he said. “Of the
active cases in Bình Dương, 321 are in critical condition. This requires us
to make more efforts and apply stricter measures to control the virus,
including putting up new treatment areas to help ease the pain of thousands
of patients,” he said. The province
stands ready to open more treatment areas in case there are 20,000 new
patients. A number of businesses have volunteered to help developing the
areas. In a report
on COVID-19 prevention measures issued on Monday, the Bình Dương Standing
Party Committee asked residents not to be out of their houses for 24 hours a
day without proper reason in accordance with regulations. Police
forces were asked to go out on regular patrol and impose strict fines on
violators. The
province’s authorities also urged the launch of new field hospitals with a
capacity of 1,000-5,000 beds. As of 6am on
Tuesday, with 18,326 COVID-19 infections reported, Bình Dương is the locality
with the second highest number of patients in the country, only behind HCM
City. Top Cambodian legislator congratulates Vietnamese NA Chairman President of
the National Assembly (NA) of Cambodia Samdech Akka Moha Ponhea Chakrei Heng
Samrin on August 3 sent a letter of congratulations to Vuong Dinh Hue on his
election as Chairman of the 15th NA of Vietnam. In the
letter, Heng Samrin expressed his belief that under the sound leadership of
NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue in the new tenure, the traditional friendship,
good neighbourliness, comprehensive and long-term cooperation between the two
legislatures and two nations will continue growing more strongly in the near
future, for the benefit of the their people. On the
occasion, the top Cambodian legislator expressed his profound thanks to
Vietnam for providing hundreds of thousands of masks for Cambodia to help it
cope with the spread of COVID-19 as the pandemic has been developing
complicatedly in many countries worldwide. He also
lauded the efforts of the two governments in curbing the pandemic via close
cooperation activities and mutual medical support. Vaccination progress “too slow”, minister urges ramp-up Minister of
Health Nguyễn Thanh Long repeatedly urged localities nationwide to ramp up
vaccination efforts, complaining that the vaccination rollouts were “too
slow” in many places. Up to
Tuesday morning, more than 6.95 million COVID-19 vaccines have been
administered in Việt Nam and 712,864 people have received two shots. Monday saw
the highest number of doses administered in a day with nearly 538,500 jabs
given. During the past week, the number of doses administered daily has
ranged from 200,000 to 400,000. The country
planned to vaccinate at least 50 per cent of the adult population (18 years
old and above) within 2021 and 70 per cent of the entire population of nearly
98 million by the end of the first quarter of 2022. In an urgent
message that the minister sent to chairpersons of cities/provinces People’s
Committee on Monday, he emphasised the importance of ramping up vaccination
at this time and said Việt Nam expects to receive many more vaccines late
this year. To ramp up
vaccination drives and increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country,
Long asked localities to offer vaccines to all people aged above 18 years old
with priority given to people working in the front line, elderly people or
those having underlying health conditions. “There is no
limit on the number of people getting vaccinated in a day to make full use of
the capacity that a vaccination site can provide,” he said. Local
authorities are now allowed to decide the health monitoring time for people
after getting the vaccines instead of a compulsory 30 minutes of sitting at
the vaccination sites. The move is
expected to help vaccination sites receive more people and ensure safe
person-to-person distance. Those who
have to wait for their vaccination will be monitored and arrangements will be
made for them to be vaccinated as soon as possible. The Ministry
of Health also noted in locked-down areas, local authorities could arrange
appropriate fixed or mobile vaccination sites, so people would not have to
travel to other areas for vaccination. “Vaccination
is now a priority and urgent task for localities,” the minister emphasised. However, he
admitted that some localities have delayed implementing vaccination drives
because they were too slow in transferring vaccines to their storehouses. Meanwhile,
other localities were too cautious in delivering vaccine shots as they only
opened vaccination sites in hospitals and health facilities. “It’s OK to
set up mobile vaccination stations as long as safe distance among people is
ensured,” he said, adding that the Health Ministry would support localities
to set up such mobile vaccination stations if asked. “Vaccination
drives must be rolled out as soon as possible,” Long said, adding that from
October to December this year, Việt Nam could receive up to 47-50 million
doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Storage for
a large volume of vaccines is also an issue of concern in Việt Nam. The minister
asked localities nationwide to review their capacity to store vaccines,
especially their cooling systems with temperatures from 2 to 8 degrees
Celsius. “Many
localities do not have enough facilities to store vaccines. The Health
Ministry has provided them with information about vaccine doses that are
expected between now and the end of the year so that provinces can prepare
proper storage for their allocation," the minister said. Localities
that failed to ensure vaccination progress would have their vaccines
transferred to other localities.  President hails garment sector for growth amid COVID-19 pandemic President
Nguyen Xuan Phuc has commended the textile and garment sector for achieving
growth and caring for its workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During a
meeting with outstanding representatives of the sector in Hanoi on August 3,
President Phuc asked the sector and the Vietnam National Textile and Garment
Group (Vinatex) to fulfill the dual goal of fighting the pandemic and
ensuring production growth, as well as flexibly choose priority goals for
each period. President
Nguyen Xuan Phuc presents gifts to outstanding representatives of the sector
(Photo: VNA) Leaders of
the industry proposed accelerating vaccinations to prevent production chain
disruption, ensure enough workforce and conditions to process large-scale
orders later this year. Vinatex reported
that the world's garment market only expanded by about 2.3 percent in the
first half of this year. In the first seven months of 2021, the group earned
23 billion USD from exports, up 21 percent year on year and 10 percent from
2019. Its profit also doubled from the same period last year. All of its
affiliate units still have enough orders for the third and fourth quarters to
ensure profit. The sector is striving to post 18 percent growth this year. Nearly 3
million workers are working for 13,000 garment and textile enterprises across
the country./. VSS moves to guarantee rights of policyholders at time of
COVID-19 The Vietnam
Social Security (VSS) has asked its local and sectoral chapters to secure
sufficient funding to cover medical expenses of health insurance holders
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, according to its dispatch issued on August 2. The dispatch
was sent to the municipal and provincial social security agencies and those
of the Defence Ministry and public security force, providing instructions on
how to make advance payments for and settle the claims of the insured given
that the worst-ever COVID-19 resurgence is ravaging the country, particularly
the southern region. The move
aims to ensure the legitimate rights and benefits of the insured at the time
of the pandemic. The social
security chapters must make sure health care service providers do not
experience lack of funding for procurement of medicines and other medical
supplies, while taking into account requests from these providers for advance
payments to cover insured health care services so the policyholders shall not
have to pay for themselves. The VSS has
pledged to keep a close watch on the development of the COVID-19 situation
and promptly take actions to guarantee the rights of the holders of social,
health and unemployment insurances. Vietnam wins three golds at 2021 Int’l Chemistry Olympiad All four
Vietnamese students have secured three golds and a silver at the 53rd
International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO 2021) virtually hosted by Japan,
according to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), The silver
medal went to another 12th grader of the School for the Gifted at Hanoi
National University. The IChO
2021 which was virtually hosted by Japan from July 25 to August 2 attracted
contestants from 79 countries and territories worldwide. Earlier in
July, Vietnamese students won three gold and two silvers at the 2021
International Physics Olympiads, two gold, one silver and two bronze medals
at the 2021 International Mathematical Olympiad, and a gold, two silvers and
a bronze at the 2021 International Biology Olympiad. Overall, all
37 Vietnamese students have clinched medals at this year’s Olympiads, including
12 gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze medals, as well as two mentions. Dong Nai calls on private health units to join Covid-19 fight The Dong Nai
Department of Health has written to private hospitals and clinics in the
province calling on them to ask their medical employees to join the fight
against Covid-19. Private
hospitals were told to appoint two to five doctors and five to 10 nurses and
technicians each to support the battle against the pandemic, while each
private clinic is expected to dispatch one or two of its doctors and two to
four nurses and technicians to the province’s field hospitals. Dong Nai
Province has seen the number of daily Covid-19 cases surge and has detected
several new chains of infections at firms, including those applying the stay-at-work
mode, while facing a shortage of medical workers, the provincial department
said August 3. Phan Huy Anh
Vu, director of the provincial department, said that the province had
reported some 5,500 infections in the ongoing fourth wave of Covid-19, which
began in late April, while over 50 of the total 8,000 medical workers were
infected with the virus. The
province’s health sector has set up nine field hospitals for Covid-19
treatment and assigned five general hospitals to admit and treat Covid-19
patients, but these facilities are overloaded. Due to the
unpredictable trajectory of the pandemic, the Ministry of Health asked Dong
Nai Province to set up more field hospitals with a combined capacity of up to
10,000 beds and mobilize medical workers to join the vaccination, contact
tracing and testing operations. As such, the
provincial department asked the directors of private healthcare units to
offer the support of medical human resources to fight off the pandemic. First cab drivers in Hanoi vaccinated against Covid-19 These
drivers will participate in emergency situations, including hospitalization,
hospital discharge, and airport transfer. More than
200 drivers will participate in the capital city's drive to contain the novel
coronavirus after they have been vaccinated with support from Hanoi's
departments of Transport and Health. This is the
first round of vaccination against Covid-19 for drivers in the capital city,
according to Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Transport Dao Viet
Long. Over the
past time, on the recommendations of transport associations and enterprises,
the department has proposed to the Steering Committee for Covid-19 prevention
and control to prioritize injections for drivers of bus, airport taxi, and
long-distance coaches and trucks, Long said. The
municipal Department of Transport recently allowed the operation of 200 taxi
cabs to serve local residents in emergency situations during the social
distancing regime in place in the capital city since July 24. The
emergency situations include hospitalization, hospital discharge, and airport
transfer. The fleet of 200 taxicabs is distributed throughout all districts
and stationed at major hospitals. All 200
vehicles have been registered and approved for emergency use by the
Department of Transport, according to Nguyen Cong Hung, director of Mai Linh
Group’s Hanoi office. To ensure
epidemiological safety, the cars have been equipped with transparent
partitions to separate passengers from drivers and reduce the risks of
Covid-19 transmission, Hung added. He stressed
that customers and drivers are required to wear face masks, roll the car
windows down at all times. Drivers must prepare hand sanitizer, and fumigate
the vehicles after each ride. Passengers
are encouraged to pay through contactless payment means to reduce coronavirus
transmission risks, Hung noted, adding that people can download Mai Linh Taxi
app or call the group’s hotline available at 1055 for the service. This is the
second time that Hanoi has resorted to stringent Directive No.16, the first
was in April 2020, which lasted for nearly a month. The capital
city has reported 1,082 Covid-19 infections since late April, when the fourth
wave started wreaking havoc in Vietnam, according to the municipal Department
of Health. Source:
VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes |
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