VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES AUGUST 15
14:53 Retired
medicos join COVID-19 fight
Nguyen Thi Thanh Tung is a retired doctor, after working for more than 30
years at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. With the pandemic spreading
and former colleagues feeling overwhelmed, she decided to become more
involved, and returned to the hospital’s ICU to help its nearly 400 patients. Meanwhile,
Colonel Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Ha is one of five retired doctors volunteering to
save the lives of patients at the Le Van Viet Field Hospital in Thu Duc City.
Dr Ha and her family were concerned about her rejoining her former colleagues
at the hospital, but with a strong sense of determination and responsibility,
the former medico decided to work on the front lines. In response
to calls from the Ministry of Health, hundreds of former doctors in Ho Chi
Minh City have registered over the past few weeks to join in the fight
against the pandemic. As the
rising number of serious COVID-19 patients overwhelms many hospitals, the
medical system in Ho Chi Minh City is facing a lot of difficulties, including
the shortage of staff. Therefore, the active response from retired healthcare
workers is warmly welcomed, contributing to and encouraging frontline workers
in the fight against the pandemic. COVID pandemic increases unemployment rate The
coronavirus pandemic has had great impact on the labour market, with an
increase in the unemployment rate, according to the Department of
Employment of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs
(MoLISA). The
department said that in the first seven months this year, the number of
enterprises withdrawing from the labour market was higher than the number of
newly established enterprises. Specifically, more than 79,700 enterprises
withdrew from the market whereas 75,800 enterprises were newly registered. On average,
more than 11,300 businesses withdraw from the market every month. The number
of enterprises withdrawing from the labour market occurred in all industries,
focusing heavily on wholesale, retail, automobile and
motorbike repair, manufacturing and processing, construction,
accommodation, real estate business and education. Unemployment
increased because many businesses were no longer able to cope with the
pandemic. The number of unemployed in the second quarter was 1.2
million, accounting for 2.62 per cent of people of working age. In
July, the increased unemployment rate of people at working age in urban
areas grew to more than 4 per cent. The number
of people who stopped working is different between regions. Specifically, in
19 southern provinces and cities that are applying social distancing
following Directive No 16/CT-TTg, nearly 20 per cent of businesses have
stopped working and nearly 3 million people are unemployed, accounting for
33.4 per cent of total employees. In the
central region, complicated pandemic developments in Khánh Hòa, Phú Yên and
Đà Nẵng saw the rate of businesses temporarily suspending work at 3.4
per cent, with more than 500,000 unemployed workers, making up 15 per cent of
total employees in the region. In the
northern area, by August 5, a total 288 enterprises had to suspend operations
in Bắc Giang Province with 15,262 unemployed workers. In Hà Nội, 7,435
enterprises temporarily suspended operations with over 180,000 employees
having to stop working. Labour in
the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors suffered the least negative
impact of the pandemic with 8.9 per cent of workers in this area
affected, followed by industry and construction with 24.6 per cent, and
service sector workers hardest hit at 30.6 per cent. MoLISA has
proposed a group of solutions to support businesses and employees in
difficulties during the pandemic. Localities
have implemented solutions to serve as a basis for production and business
recovery, economic development, and social stability, such as having
programmes and policies to encourage young workers to improve their skills,
to be ready to enter the labour market with necessary skills to meet the
requirements of the economy in the fourth industrial revolution era. They will
continue to supplement capital sources for lending to business households and
employees who are facing difficulties and need to borrow capital to restore
production and create jobs. Response plans urged for post-social distancing period Experts have
suggested response plans are essential after provinces and cities lift their
current social distancing orders under Directive 16/CT-TTg of the Prime
Minister. On August
13, delegates gathered at a teleconference chaired by Deputy Prime Minister
Vu Duc Dam, Head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention
and Control, discussing epidemic prevention and control work amid the current
social distancing order under Directive 16/CT-TTg applied in 19 provinces and
cities in the southern region and some other localities across the country. At the
meeting, members of the Steering Committee focused on discussing the lessons
learned from anti-epidemic practices across the country, especially in Ho Chi
Minh City and other provinces and cities in the South, in order to develop
effective response scenarios in the near future. They argued
that social distancing must be strictly and substantively implemented, along
with firmly protecting “green zones”, surrounding and narrowing high-risk
areas (orange and red areas). As outbreaks
continue appearing in various localities across the country, it is necessary
for local authorities to strictly detect entries from other localities to
timely monitor and strictly handle cases who did not carry out medical declarations. Localities
were asked to immediately set up a system of hotlines and community health
teams to go to each residential area to provide on-site medical support for
all people with suspected symptoms as well as other health problems. At the meeting,
Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that in the coming time, the Ministry
of Health will focus on organising and urging the implementation of
Resolution No. 86/NQ-CP dated August 6, 2021 on urgent solutions to prevent
and combat the epidemic, while conducting risk assessment and forecasting at
four levels (very high, high, mediate risk and new normal) in order for each
locality to have appropriate solutions for testing, isolation, blockade and
vaccination suitable to actual conditions. The relevant
forces will continue to concentrate on encircling and narrowing red zones,
expanding the green zones, quickly separating infections (F0s) from the
community, limiting the number of F0s from rapidly increasing, and minimising
deaths to return to the new normal state as soon as possible. On the same
day, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Chu Ngoc Anh, inspected the
epidemic prevention and control work in Dong Da district, during which he
hailed Dong Da for effective disease prevention and control despite being a
high risk area with a large population and a high concentration of major
hospitals, schools and offices. Notably, the
district has organised eight rounds of vaccination against COVID-19, with
more than 55,530 doses, reaching the assigned target, while taking more than
50,000 samples for testing in red and orange areas. Anh directed
the local units to speed up the testing progress and return the results with
the most accuracy and in the fastest manner possible, while boosting
vaccination with absolute safety ensured. According to
the Hanoi Department of Health, the capital city recorded only two new
infection cases from 6 pm on August 13 to 6 am on August 14, both in already
isolated areas. So far, during the fourth infection wave (from April 27, 2021),
2,128 cases, of which 1,178 were recorded in the community, have been
detected in Hanoi. On August
13, Ho Chi Minh City implemented vaccinations using Sinopharm's Vero Cell
COVID-19 vaccine for social protection beneficiaries and local people, on a voluntary
basis. The
Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City has
proposed to vaccinate the remaining 20,000 cases at social protection centres
and drug addiction treatment facilities across the city. On the day,
the city’s Centre for Disease Control (HCDC) issued 44,000 doses of the Vero
Cell vaccine to local districts and Thu Duc city to develop appropriate
injection plans. In Ho Chi
Minh City, medical units have injected 19,000 doses of the Vero Cell vaccine,
allocated from 500,000 previously donated doses. Travel schedule required at 12 checkpoints at HCM City gateways People who
pass through 12 quarantine checkpoints placed at HCM City's entrance
gates will have to declare their travel schedule on the city’s system
connected to the National Population Database. Drivers who
go through these checkpoints will be required to declare information
at www.suckhoe.dancuquocgia.gov.vn. Officers at
checkpoints will compare information with the driver’s identification
documents. After the
officer confirms the information, the system will save the information and
authenticate the citizen information through the connection to the National
Population Database system. Police
officers are assigned the responsibility of
compiling data and reporting on the situation of citizens
entering and exiting the city. Declared
information will be processed on the National Population Database to ensure
the accuracy of information. In addition,
the information will be provided to the administration of the ward and
commune where the citizens are going. According to
the city Police Department's Road and Railway Traffic Police Unit
(PC08), the requirement will help the city authority in COVID-19
prevention measures. Compared
with the current medical declaration apps such as Bluezone, this system has
another advantage in that it shares data with the National
Population Database. When
citizens declare their health status and travel schedule on the system,
the local government where they live receives the information
immediately. Large fishing ships resume operations at La Gi Port About 650
fishing ships have resumed operations at La Gi Fishing Port in
Bình Thuận Province after being suspended for nearly three weeks due to
the latest COVID-19 outbreak. The
port in the south-central province’s La Gi Town suspended
operation from July 24 under the Prime Minister's Directive No.16
on COVID-19 prevention and control measures. The town’s
People’s Committee on August 12 issued a document to better
manage fishing activities under social distancing. The
fishing ships will be licensed to operate if crew members have negative
COVID-19 test results within 72 hours prior to departure, and
the ships install monitoring devices on board. All ship
owners and crew must fully comply with regulations
and guidance on pandemic prevention and control measures of the
government, local pandemic checkpoint and border guard
stations, and inter-sectoral COVID-19 prevention and control stations. Before
leaving the port, the ship captain must have a departure card issued by
the local pandemic checkpoint and border guard station. The ship
owner can ask the port management board to prepare food, fuel and other
necessities for offshore fishing trips. After
boarding the ship, the crew must stay on board until the
ship leaves the port to minimise the risk of
infections. The ship
captain must inform the port’s management board about the ship’s
registration number and the amount of caught seafood at least three
hours in advance before entering the port. The caught
seafood must be unloaded and transported out of the port under the
guidance of the port management board. La Gi Town
is one of several COVID-19 hotspots in the province with more than 1,000
COVID-19 cases recorded. La Gi
Fishing Port has the highest density of
ships entering and leaving the province and a large-scale
anchorage for more than 2,000 ships to avoid storms. Bình Thuận
is one of the four largest fishing grounds in Việt Nam. The province’s
fishing industry has gained positive achievements due to
COVID-19 prevention and control measures, favourable weather, and
cooperation among business firms. Overseas-Vietnamese experts recommend solutions to ending
COVID outbreak Việt Nam,
especially the current hotspot HCM City, needs to maintain
stringent social distancing measures and stress that each individual and
family plays a decisive role in reducing infection chains,
overseas-Vietnamese experts said at a webinar on Thursday. Dr Vũ Ngọc
Khuê, a Vietnamese-American, said the country’s pandemic epicentre should be
able to contain the latest outbreak that began in late April within the
next four weeks. “Four weeks
would be enough for the city to contain the spread. The first two weeks
will detect symptomatic FO (COVID patients) cases for quarantine, while
the next two weeks will detect cases that have had longer incubation
periods” and may not be showing symptoms, he added. Severe
cases will need more time for treatment and recovery in a hospital or at
isolation facilities, he said, adding that the city should focus on
critically ill patients to minimise the number of deaths. In addition
to having medical staff fully equipped with proper equipment, all
resources including military forces should be
mobilised for the fight. Trần Trọng
Hùng, a Vietnamese-Polish man who is vice chairman of the
Vietnamese Community in Poland, said that the COVID-19 Prevention and Support
Committee in Poland developed a COVID-19 prevention manual, stressing the
role of each individual and each family. All
people, including those fully vaccinated, must strictly implement
measures such as hand washing, keeping a distance, wearing a mask, and
limiting gatherings. People should contact medical staff
immediately to have a COVID test when they have symptoms such as fever,
cough, shortness of breath, sore throat or headache. To quickly
recover, you should practise breathing exercises to support the lungs, and
keep a thermometer, blood pressure monitor and oximeter at home. Testing is
key Experts said
that even with the promising prospects of COVID vaccinations, it will
take some time for vaccines to be delivered to the general population. The surge of
the more transmissible Delta variant has made testing more vital, even among
vaccinated people. Testing, tracking, tracing and isolating quickly,
massively and smartly are all needed to prevent future rebounds of
infections following social distancing measures. Dr. Nguyễn
Đức Thái, a Vietnamese-American and co-founder of TransMed-VN forum,
said that Việt Nam has conducted three main
kinds of testing. The first is an antibody or serology test, a
blood test that looks for signs of a previous infection to
help understand the pervasiveness of the disease in communities. The second
is a rapid antigen test, which can deliver results in less
than 15 minutes, a less accurate alternative but one that is very
good at identifying when people are infectious. The third is the more
accurate PCR tests, which requires a laboratory, according to Thái. With the
delta variant surging throughout the world, more testing is paramount. Dr Thái
said the city could use a highly sensitive and cost-effective
test that uses artificial intelligence to detect pathogens (called AIMS
RT-PCR technology) as recommended by Dr. Hồ Hữu Thọ of the Hà Nội Military
Medical Academy. The test,
which can take a pooling sample of 100, is very accurate
and suitable for large-scale testing or city-wide testing, he noted. Japanese-Vietnamese Trần
Ngọc Phúc, president of the Japanese medical equipment firm Metran,
and chairman of the Association of Vietnamese in Japan, said the city
should buy low-cost ventilators that are easy to use so that doctors at
all levels can safely use them. The city
should also buy more CPAP machines, oxygen generators and saturation
oximeters to meet the needs of patients treated at home to reduce the
transfer of patients to hospitals, he added. An online
monitoring system for patients with unstable medical conditions could be
used, and mobile medical teams should be set up to better diagnose
and take care of patients at home. Dr. Võ Toàn
Trung, Vietnamese-French, said the city needed to prepare for
a worst-case scenario, especially if the rate of positive
cases exceeds the capacity of the healthcare system. Dương Anh
Đức, vice chairman of the People’s Committee, said the city
would consider all of the recommendations and expressed
gratitude to overseas Vietnamese, including those at home and abroad, for
providing medical equipment and essential items. After
successfully containing the virus in 2020 and early this year, the
country now faces a serious outbreak, with HCM City and southern
provinces accounting for most new infections. HCM City, the
largest hotspot, has recorded more than 137,000 cases since the
beginning of the fourth wave in late April. Việt Nam
recorded 9,667 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday and a further 326
people died of COVID. The new cases take the total number of infections to
246,568 and the total number of deaths to 4,813. The
country has administered 12,098,821 doses of vaccines. A total of
1,092,700 people have received two doses. The webinar
was organised by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Overseas Vietnamese in
HCM City. Livestream show highlights doctors and volunteers A livestream
show produced by T Production and its partners called Thành Phố
18h (HCM City-18pm) highlights stories from doctors, nurses and
artists who have been working together to boost morale and help in
the battle against the COVID-19 virus, with the city deep in lockdown. Stories by
city celebrities who have helped the city's medical staff
test people in blockaded areas are also featured. Quỳnh Hoa,
the show’s producer, said that more than 130 fashion models and
artists in different fields have been participating in
humanitarian works to lessen the hardship of citizens in isolated areas. They have
volunteered to work as coordinators for the vaccination programme, go
shopping for quarantined people, and visit locked-down areas to take
samples for COVID-19 testing. “Our
show, Thành Phố 18h, includes three topics: Connecting & Sharing,
The Frontline and The Power of Positive Energy.” “Through our
show, we want to encourage people and inspire love, unity,
mercy, energy and belief in the COVID-19 fight,” she said. Thành Phố
18h includes live performances by famous singers and musicians. The
artists perform songs in praise of love and life. The first
episode of Thành Phố 18h released on Tuesday attracted several
hundred thousand viewers. It highlighted performances by pop star
Cẩm Vân and young singer Trúc Nhân. “Appearing
in Thành Phố 18h is a chance for me to help people during the
pandemic,” said singer Trúc Nhân. Nhân
performed Huế-Sài Gòn-Hà Nội, a famous song about love and unity
released in 1960 by late songwriter-musican Trịnh Công Sơn. “Many
fans have sent comments to encourage the show’s artists and myself
in particular.” The second
episode of Thành Phố 18h is scheduled for August 16. It
will be released every Monday and Saturday on fanpages of the Việt Nam
Young People’s Association, HCM City Youth Union and Yeah1 TV, Yeah1 Music. Covid-19-infected man prosecuted for fleeing from medical
facility A
Covid-19-infected man has been prosecuted for absconding while being treated
at a medical facility in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.In July, Luu Van
Son tested positive for Covid-19 after coming into close contact with a
Covid-19 patient. He was then taken to a local field hospital for treatment.
On July 31, he escaped from the treatment area. He then got
a ride from a man to Lien Bao Ward in Vinh Yen City. However,
just some hours later, the police caught him and brought him back to the hospital
for treatment. According to
the police, Son’s violation cost around VND290 million (USD12,608) in time
and resources to contact tracing activities. Hospitals asked to set aside at least 40% of beds for Covid-19
patients The Ministry
of Health today, August 12, wrote to all public and private hospitals, asking
them to set aside a minimum of 40% of their beds for Covid-19 patients. The ministry
mobilized all public and private hospitals to receive and treat Covid-19
patients and appointed some hospitals as Covid-19 treatment
centers, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported. Hospitals
were asked to strictly comply with measures to reduce the number of Covid-19
deaths. The ministry
also asked hospitals to maintain normal medical checkup and treatment services
and not to refuse emergency cases and critical patients. Violators will face
heavy sanctions. In addition,
the Ministry of Health asked hospitals to treat patients with follow-up
appointments and patients in areas under lockdown or social distancing. Those
suffering from chronic diseases will receive medicines for one to three
months. To prevent
the coronavirus transmission inside hospitals, the ministry asked hospitals
to check those going to and from hospitals and conduct random tests for
medical workers, patients and caregivers, especially those in the checkup,
emergency and recuperation departments. Hospitals
must have temporary quarantine areas. Earlier, the
Ministry of Health had directed hospitals not to refuse patients. However, in
many localities, especially HCMC, many patients were not admitted to
hospitals and their condition worsened. Health Ministry prioritizes Remdesivir for elderly, obese
Covid-19 patients The Ministry
of Health has allowed hospitals and medical facilities to use the Covid-19
antiviral Remdesivir for Covid-19 inpatients, with priority given to those
with underlying medical conditions, suffering from obesity (BMI > 25) and
aged over 65. The medical
facilities can use Remdesivir to treat Covid-19 patients only if they get
permission from the patients or their family. The use of Remdesivir for
Covid-19 treatment must follow the “Guidance on Using Remdesivir for Covid-19
Treatment” that was issued by the Ministry of Health on August 12. The guidance
was compiled based on the instructions of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency. Remdesivir
is an antiviral drug developed by U.S. biopharmaceutical firm Gilead
Sciences. It has been approved for Covid-19 treatment in around 50 countries
and territories such as the United States, Australia, Japan and India. The drug is
used for treating Covid-19 patients with symptoms. It is given by injection
into a vein usually once daily for five to 10 days. According to
FDA, the possible side effects of using Remdesivir include increased levels
of liver enzymes, which may be a sign of liver injury and allergic reactions,
which may include changes in blood pressure and heart rate, low blood oxygen
level, fever, shortness of breath, wheezing, swelling, rash, nausea, sweating
or shivering. Deputy
Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son stressed several times that Remdesivir
must be prescribed by doctors and people should not buy it for Covid-19
treatment at home. Bac Ninh reopens some non-essential services as Covid-19
situation eases The northern
province of Bac Ninh has allowed some non-essential services to resume
operations starting 6 a.m. today, August 13, as the Covid-19 outbreak in the
province has been brought under control, with no new domestic infections
reported over the past 20 days, said a local official. According to
Ngo Van Luyen, deputy head of the provincial government’s Office, the
services subject to the resumption must not remain open after 9 p.m. Specifically,
hair salons can reopen but have to avoid large gatherings of over five
people, while outdoor sports activities must ban gatherings of more than 10
and those participating have to keep a safe physical distance of at least two
meters from each other. Coach stations and bus services have also been
permitted to resume operations. Besides,
breakfast venues are required to install transparent plastic dividers between
tables, ensure people keep a distance of at least one meter from each other
and serve no more than 10 guests at the same time. Meanwhile, other eateries
and coffee shops are allowed to offer take-away services only. The services
allowed to reopen must strictly follow anti-virus measures. The
provincial government asked departments, agencies and local authorities to
monitor the compliance of these businesses with Covid-19 safety measures and
tackle violators. Data from
the provincial Health Department showed that Bac Ninh has reported 1,727
coronavirus cases since May 5. As of
yesterday afternoon, 1,675 coronavirus patients in the province had been
declared free of the disease, while four others are under treatment. HCM City needs more medical personnel at hospitals
treating COVID-19 patients More medical
personnel from other provinces are being deployed in HCM City, Việt
Nam’s COVID-19 epicentre, as the burden on hospitals worsens and as
the city considers paying recovered COVID-19 patients, who have high
natural immunity, to help with prevention and control activities. The
city is in need of 12,000 more personnel, including doctors and nurses
who can treat symptomatic patients with underlying medical conditions from
the second to fifth levels. Medical staff skilled in resuscitation and
intensive care are especially needed. Many
hospitals are struggling to care for more COVID-19
patients. The COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital set up in Thủ Đức
City, which has admitted over 1,000 severely and critically ill COVID-19
patients, is in dire need of more medical personnel since the number of
patients admitted has exceeded its capacity. Trần Thanh
Linh, deputy head of Chợ Rẫy Hospital's intensive care unit and deputy
director of COVID-19 Resuscitation Hospital, said the latter was
designed to have 500 beds for its first phase, but currently it is already
treating around 600 patients. It has been
receiving personnel from Chợ Rẫy Hospital and is working on improving
its treatment capacity to 700 hospital beds. While
medical equipment there is still able to satisfy demand, more machinery
and medicines will be needed in the future, he said. Sixteen
field hospitals have been established to treat the rising number of F0
(infected) cases. The Phú Nhuận COVID-19 No. 1 Field Hospital, for
example, was put into service on August 12 in Phú Nhuận District. The
hospital treats second and third-level patients according to
the city’s five-level admission and treatment plan for COVID-19
patients. The patients at the hospital include symptomatic
cases with underlying medical conditions who may become moderately or
severely ill. With 350
beds, including 60 beds for resuscitation, and a wide variety of medical
equipment, it aims to reduce the number of worsening F0 cases who
need to be transferred to hospitals for specialised medical
intervention, alleviating stress on such facilities. The field
hospital currently has 65 medical staff treating more than 20 patients. Dr. Tăng Chí
Thượng, deputy director of HCM City’s Department of Health, said
that city districts must be proactive in finding,
admitting and monitoring local F0 cases. According to
the HCM City Centre for Disease Control, the city has nearly 58,000 medical
staff and 20,000 personnel involved in the fight against COVID-19. More than
4,000 personnel are from central hospitals and other hospitals
in provinces and cities, and there are tens of thousands of volunteers. Help from
recovered patients Chairman of
HCM City People’s Committee Nguyễn Thành Phong has asked the Health Department
to suggest payment policies for recovered COVID-19 patients who could help
the city in COVID prevention and control activities. The city has
a total of 65,135 COVID-19 patients who have been discharged from
hospitals since January. Vice
Director of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases Nguyễn
Trung Cấp told Vietnam News Agency that most people who
have recovered from COVID-19 are likely to be immune for several months
afterwards. One study concluded that immune responses from past infections reduced
the risk of reinfection by 83 per cent for at least five months. However,
even though the COVID-19 reinfection rate is low, it is still
possible, so people recovering from COVID-19 must take preventive
measures and get vaccinated as soon as possible, Cấp said. Phong has
also asked city departments to conduct a survey on human resources
and medicine at designated hospitals and, based on the
results, make decisions about the best use of staff, medicine and
transfer of COVID-19 patients. The city
also asked the Ministry of National Defence and the Government’s
special task force to add more doctors and nurses
to field hospitals and COVID-19 treatment hospitals, and increase
contact tracing, testing, and the number of vaccination sites. Hanoi to mobilise more taxis for Covid-19 fight The
Transport Department of Hanoi has asked three local taxi companies to prepare
to join in the anti Covid-19 activities in the area. The
Transport Department of Hanoi has asked three local taxi companies to prepare
to join in the anti Covid-19 activities in the area. The
department asked Mai Linh Taxi Company, G7 Taxi Company, and Taxi Group to
set aside between 100-120 vehicles to support the virus fighting activities
in Hanoi. According to
the department, the Covid-19 situation in Hanoi is still complicated with
lots of infections found in the community. And as the social distancing rules
have continued, there will be a shortage of.vehicle for transportation in
case there are more patients. "We
will use the five-seated taxis to transport patients with no or mild symptoms
while seven-seated and nine-seated cars will be used for serious patients who
cannot walk," the department said. Since the
social distancing rules were imposed three weeks ago, 200 taxis of Mai Linh
Company have been mobilised to transport patients and people of the
anti-Covid-19 teams while all taxi and public bus services have been
suspended. More donations offered to COVID-19 fight Vice
President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central
Committee Le Tien Chau on August 13 received an additional sum of nearly
US$529,000, donated by various units in support of the nation’s COVID-19
anti-pandemic efforts. The
donations included VND10 billion (US$440,000) from the CEO Group for the national
COVID-19 vaccine fund, and US$50,000 from the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship
Association and VND882 million (nearly US$39,000) from the General Department
of Taxation for the COVID-19 fight. Since May 1,
2021, more than VND7 trillion (US$307.8 million) has been donated or
registered to be donated to the pandemic battle through the VFF system from
central to local levels, including VND794.8 billion through the VFF Central
Committee and over VND6.22 trillion through the VFF Committees of cities and
provinces. Speaking at
the event on Friday, Chau thanked the three units for their donations,
affirming that the money will be allocated in a public, transparent and
lawful manner, contributing to promptly lifting the country out of its
current period of difficulty. On the same
day, at its truck and bus showroom in Phu Tho Province, the Truong Hai Auto
Corporation (THACO) presented nine specialised cars in service of mobile
vaccination to the Health Departments of Phu Tho, Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Tuyen
Quang, Vinh Phuc, Ha Giang, Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien Provinces. On August
13, the VFF Committee of Hanoi held a ceremony to receive more than 70 tonnes
of goods, including rice and necessities, from the VFF Committee of Hoa Binh
Province, to support the capital’s COVID-19 prevention and control efforts. Vice
Chairman of the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee Hoang Nam said that
from August 13, the province began to disburse a projected amount of VND15
billion (US$660,000) to support around 15,000 Quang Tri workers in southern
cities and provinces facing difficulties due to the impact of the pandemic,
with VND1 million for each. The central
coastal city of Da Nang has completed the payment of more than VND29 billion
in allowances for 53,593 revolutionary contributors, beneficiaries of social
protection policies, poor and near-poor people in the city affected by
COVID-19. Vietnamese community in South Africa donate face masks to
Namibia and Botswana Continuing
the series of practical activities to help countries in southern Africa with
their COVID-19 fight, the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa on August 13
handed over 100,000 face masks to the representative agencies of Namibia and
Botswana in Pretoria in service of their domestic anti-pandemic efforts. Addressing
the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Hoang Van Loi said the face masks were
donated by the Vietnamese community in South Africa to help the people of the
two nations push back the disease. Sharing with
the representatives of Namibia and Botswana about the pandemic situation in
Vietnam, Loi said that the Vietnamese Government considers COVID-19
prevention and control its most important and urgent task at present,
affirming that Vietnam always puts the health and life of its people first
and foremost. On this
occasion, the ambassador asked about the COVID-19 situation in Namibia and
Botswana, sharing Vietnam’s anti-pandemic experience with the two nations and
discussing cooperation opportunities in other potential areas. For his
part, Namibian Ambassador to South Africa Veiccoh K. Nghiwete expressed his
appreciation for the noble gesture of the Vietnamese people, emphasising that
the donation of face masks represents the friendship, brotherhood and
solidarity between the two countries’ peoples. Chargé
d'Affaires of the Botswana Embassy Gaogane Tiny Mothobi also extended his
deep gratitude to the Vietnamese people, saying the face masks would soon be
sent home for effective use in the context of the COVID-19 complexity in the
African countries. Previously,
the Vietnamese Embassy in South Africa organised the hand-over of face masks
to Eswatini’s representative agency. About 100,000 face masks donated by the
Vietnamese community are expected to be handed over to Lesotho and Zimbabwe
in the time ahead, 50,000 for each. In South
Africa, the Vietnamese Embassy has also organised delegations to visit and
donate face masks to schools in Pretoria. The mask-donating programme will
continue to be implemented for some schools and residential communities in
other localities in South Africa in the near future. Together
with the donation of over one million face masks to support the COVID-19
fight in African countries, the Vietnamese Embassy in Pretoria has mobilised
donations from Vietnamese representative agencies and communities in South
Africa to support the national COVID-19 prevention and control fund at home. Vaccination on pregnant women: benefit outweighs risks Prof. Dr.
Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan, head of the Maternity of the University of Medicine and
Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City said that countries around the world now
recommend pregnant women should be given priority to vaccinate to protect the
health of both mothers, fetuses, and the community, especially in areas where
the epidemic is spreading rapidly. The Ministry
of Health has just issued a guidance the screening before receiving the
Covid-19 vaccine, which adds that pregnant women over 13 weeks old can
receive the Covid-19 vaccine at a licensed medical facility providing
obstetric care. This guidance is widely accepted and supported. However, many
pregnant women still wonder about the impact of the Covid-19 vaccine on the
fetus after vaccination. A
36-year-old pregnant Dinh Thi Hang in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 8 has
rarely gone out during her pregnancy. Recently, when she heard that the
Ministry of Health allowed pregnant women over 13 weeks old to be vaccinated,
Hang was very happy and planned to register for the vaccine. However, after
researching, she worried that the vaccine would have bad effects on the
pregnancy and the baby. Like Ms. Hang, pregnant Nguyen Yen Ngoc in District 4
who is 8 months pregnant is also quite confused about whether she should be
vaccinated against Covid-19 or not. Last but not
least, women with Covid-19 in pregnancy will develop preeclampsia, premature
birth; therefore, pregnant women should receive good consultations of
benefits and risk of vaccination to decide themselves. Associate
Professor Dr. Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet, Director of Hung Vuong Hospital, said
that since the epidemic broke out widely, the number of pregnant women with
Covid-19 began to increase rapidly. Under the direction of the Department of
Health of Ho Chi Minh City, Hung Vuong Hospital has deployed a Covid-19
treatment unit for pregnant women. After being put into operation,
approximately 180-200 pregnant women with Covid-19 have been transferred to
treatment continuously. According to
the current vaccination guidelines of the Ministry of Health, all Covid-19
vaccines in Vietnam can be vaccinated for pregnant women, except for the
Sputnik V vaccine. Regarding the impact of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to
Dr. Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet, many studies show that, when pregnant women receive
the Covid-19 vaccine, they will create antibodies, antibodies pass through
the umbilical cord blood, thereby the baby also receives Covid-19 antibodies. Associate
Professor Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan said that studies around the world show that
pregnant women can receive vaccines like normal people and have not recorded
the risk of abnormal problems for women and their babies. A study on over
30,000 pregnant women by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
of the US showed that no side effects of the vaccine on pregnancy and fetus
have been recorded. However,
because the Covid-19 vaccine is still quite new, it has only been put into
use since December 2020 and there is still not enough data to assess its
long-term safety. Therefore, pregnant women should consider the benefits and
risks; they need to be examined and consulted carefully before injecting the
Covid-19 vaccine," said Dr. Lan. Medical
workers have encouraged all pregnant people or people who are thinking about
becoming pregnant, those who live in Covid-19-hit districts, and those
breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the coronavirus. Businesses donate 100 ventilators, medical equipment to HCMC to
battle Covid-19 The Vietnam
Fatherland Front of HCMC on August 14 received 100 ventilators from the Sovico
Group and HCMC Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank) to assist the
city's fight against Covid-19. These Carat
II Pro ventilators made in Germany worth VND30 billion (US$1.3 million) is
the half of 200 machines that have been donated to pandemic-hit localities in
the country. After arriving in Vietnam on August 13, they have been promptly
delivered to hospitals to treat patients with Covid-19, said General Director
of Sovico Group Pham Quoc Thanh. In addition,
the Sovico Group, Vietjet Air and HDBank also presented medical equipment
worth hundreds of billion VND to the city. In the event
of receiving, the Vietnam Fatherland Front of HCMC and the Mobilization Board
of the HCMC's Covid-19 control fund handed over 100 ventilators to Cho Ray
Hospital, HCMC's University Hospital of Medicine and Pharmacy, Nguyen Tri
Phuong Hospital, Military Hospital 175, Buu Dien (Postal) General Hospital,
the Intensive Care Unit of Hue Central Hospital, the 115 People's Hospital. Speaking at
the event, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front of HCMC To Thi Bich
Chau extended her heartfelt thanks to the enterprises for gifting medical
supplies to assist the frontline healthcare workers to care for Covid-19
patients. As of now,
the Vietnam Fatherland Front of the city has received donations valued more
than VND3, 000 billion (US$131.4 million), including cash gifts of VND800
billion (US$35 million) and medical equipment worth VND1, 750 billion
(US$76.6 million). 200 Germany-made ventilators arrive in HCM City A flight of
Vietjet Air transporting 200 ventilators from Germany landed in Ho Chi Minh
City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport on August 13 to help hospitals in
COVID-19 hotspots fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The
ventilators are part of assistance provided by Sovico Group, HD Bank and
budget carrier Vietjet Air to the country’s coronavirus response. Half of the
ventilators were delivered to hospitals in HCM City the following day while
the rest are to soon depart for medical establishments in Hanoi, Dong Nai and
Kien Giang. The three
companies have donated hundreds of billions of VND for the purchase of
ambulances, ventilators, test kits and other medical supplies for the fight
against the pandemic. Vietjet Air
has cooperated with the Ministry of Health to carry more than 3,000
healthcare workers, tonnes of medical supplies and millions of vaccine doses
to COVID-19 hotspots across the country. Source:
VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes |
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