VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES OCTOBER 2
15:38 Competent
authorities have handled violations relating to illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing (IUU) with fines amounting to hundreds of billions of
Vietnamese dong. The
Government issued Decree No.42/2019/ND-CP on May 16, 2019, stipulating fines
on administrative violations in fisheries. Since the
document came into force, the Directorate of Fisheries and the fisheries
surveillance force of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD) detected and handled 627 cases with a total fine of over 2 billion VND
(about 87,600 USD). Up to 2,198
violations were brought to light by the Ministry of National Defence, with
fines worth more than 54 billion VND. The ministry also handed over 15
fishing boats that had violated foreign waters to provincial People’s
Committees. Localities
also discovered 8,810 cases and imposed a penalty of over 83 billion VND. The ministry
said progress has been made in State management of ministries, agencies and
localities. However, there still difficulties in the settlement of
administrative violations due to the incoordination of fishermen. Given this,
the ministry has suggested the Ministry of Justice supplement certain
regulations to a new decree to replace Decree No. 42, and supplement and
adjust the content regarding the authority of border guard and coast guard in
the IUU fishing fight./. Hanoi hospital’s Covid-19 outbreak witnesses more patients Seventeen
more Covid-19 cases connected to the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital in
Hanoi have been confirmed. Of the sum,
eight are in Hanoi’s districts of Hoan Kiem, Soc Son, Thanh Tri, Thanh Oai,
Ha Dong and Quoc Oai; while the remainder are from the provinces of Thanh
Hoa, Thai Binh, Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Nam Dinh and Binh Dinh. The patients
are medical staff of the hospital and patients and their relatives. Earlier,
three people from Ha Tinh, Nam Dinh and Hung Yen tested positive for Covid-19
after returning to their hometown from the Vietnam-Germany Friendship
Hospital. To date, a
total of 20 Covid-19 patients linked to the hospital have been recorded. The
first case which was recorded on September 30 is a man from Ha Tinh Province
who took care of his relative at the Tumour Ward. Since April
29 when the fourth Covid-19 started hitting Vietnam, Hanoi has recorded 3,999
Covid-19 patients, including 1,608 locally-infected cases. Vietnamese students win third prize at ASEAN youth journalism
contest Two
Vietnamese student has secured the third prize at the 2nd ASEAN Youth Social
Journalism Contest 2021 for their social media campaign to raise awareness
about plastic consumption among young Vietnamese people amid the COVID-19
pandemic. Hoang Nguyen
Nhat Vi and Pham Quang Vinh, both from the RMIT University Vietnam, obtained
the award with a project titled “Flatten the Plastic Curve”, which reached
close to 200,000 young audiences in just a month. Following
the theme ASEAN Youth and COVID-19 ─ Response, Recovery, and Resilience, the
pair, via comic-like graphics and influencer marketing, worked to persuade
young shoppers to take small but impactful actions while making their orders
online. The project
encouraged young people to make changes, such as ordering from one shop to
minimise the use of plastic packages, or directly sending plastic-reduction
messages to shop owners or food shippers. By the end
of the campaign, Vi and Vinh reached over 40,000 young people with their
print ads, received organic shares, and had their campaign mentioned in four
Vietnamese macro influencers’ Facebook pages./. Ministry of Transport issues guidance on passenger transport
activities as lockdown eases The Ministry
of Transport has just issued temporary guidance on passenger transport
activities to ensure safety, flexibility and effective control of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The
provisional guidance on passenger transport by road, rail, inland waterway,
sea and air takes effect from October 1 depending on risk classifications in
different areas. Public
transport activities in very high risk localities (red zones) are not allowed
to operate, except for taxi and app-based vehicles that offer less than nine
seats and use vehicle partition and electronic payment. For
localities in high risk or orange zones, public vehicles can only carry half
their designed capacity. Public
transport can resume operation as normal in low- and medium-risk localities
and regions (green and yellow zones). All
passengers must comply with the 5K message, medical declaration, negative
SARS-CoV-2 test (using RT-PCR or rapid antigen test) within 72 hours. No testing
is required for people who have received one jab or fully vaccinated or have
recovered from COVID-19 within six months. Drivers and
staff must comply with the 5K message, medical declaration, test for
SARS-CoV-2 by PCR or rapid antigen test after developing suspected symptoms. In medium
and high-risk localities, they must be tested for SARS-CoV-2 frequently (once
every week). Drivers in
very high-risk areas must have received two COVID-19 jabs or recovered from
COVID-19 within six months and have a negative SARS-CoV-2 test result within
72 hours by RT-PCR or rapid antigen test. Provincial
People's Committees will grant permits for road passenger transport
activities depending on the pandemic situation in each locality. The Civil
Aviation Authority of Viet Nam will also adjust the frequency of operations
in phases depending on the actual situation. The Ministry
of Transport requests the ministry of health and public security and relevant
agencies to cooperate with the provincial People's Committees in directing
and guiding the public transport activities. Vietnam reports 18 deaths due to dengue fever Vietnam has
confirmed up to 50,000 dengue fever cases so far this year, including 18
deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. Most of the
deaths concentrate on southern localities with six in Binh Phuoc; two in HCM
City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Phu Yen and one in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Soc Trang,
Tay Ninh and Binh Thuan provinces. The Ministry
of Health has asked localities and hospitals to arrange conditions to ensure
medical checks-up and examinations for normal diseases, including dengue
fever which tends to be on the rise, amid the on-going Covid-19 pandemic. Hospitals
are also required to carefully dengue fever patients for the classification
to avoid Covid-19 infection risks for them. Based on specific conditions,
patients need to arrange time for providing medical checks-up for dengue
fever patients. Medical
facilities have been urged to set up hotlines to receive questions about
dengue fever. AI Hack Bootcamp 2021 announced in HCM City AI Hack
Bootcamp 2021 – a programme that seeks AI solutions for e-commerce - was
launched at a ceremony jointly held by the Saigon Hi-tech Park Incubation
Centre and the Vietnam E-Commerce Association on October 1. It aims to
promote the research and development of AI solutions and products, attract
promising projects and form a community of outstanding AI developers. The annual
programme will provide support for and connect AI startups, projects
solutions and products that would be utilised in e-commerce, focusing on
coaching and mentoring. After the
eight weeks of training and mentoring, the programme will move to its second
phase when about five to seven projects will be incubated for one to three
years, starting from late December this year. Entries
should be submitted to organisers from now to December./. Deputy PM inspects business, production activities in HCM City Deputy Prime
Minister Vu Duc Dam on October 1 visited enterprises in Linh Trung 1
industrial park in Ho Chi Minh City’s Thu Duc city to examine their
production and business activities on the first day of loosened social
distancing measures, and worked with leaders of Thu Duc. Underlining
that the common goal of the Government and businesses is to promote safe
production, Dam, who is also Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee
for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said that the Government has empowered
businesses in designing their own production plans while ensuring safety
regulations. Senior
Lieutenant General Vo Minh Luong, Deputy Minister of National Defence and
head of the Government’s special working group on COVID-19 prevention and
control in HCM City and southern localities, said although Thu Duc city has
managed to control the pandemic, it should maintain vigilant and not to be
hasty. Thu Duc city
should continue to speed up the injection of the second COVID-19 vaccine
shots to local residents, and encourage them to continue strictly
implementing COVID-19 prevention and control measures, he said. Dam held
that the risk of another outbreak is high, stressing the importance of
narrowing the risky areas and apply specific measures to expand “green zones”
and shrinking the “red zones”. It is essential to firmly maintain the “green
zones” towards the target of "greening" the whole city, thus
resuming production and business activities in a steady manner, and creating
stable jobs for labourers, he said. In addition,
the local administration should strengthen public health supervision, while
making good preparations in medicine, forming a smooth coordination mechanism
among medical forces to ensure that all residents receive fastest and most
effective medical services, he said./. Thu Thiem 2 Bridge expected to be put into operation by April
2022 The Thu
Thiem 2 Bridge project is expected to be completed by April 30, 2022, said
Tran Ba Duong, chairman of Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment JSC as owner
of the project. On September
30, secretary of the HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen, municipal chairman
Phan Van Mai, municipal vice chairman Le Hoa Binh and other officials
inspected the construction site of the project. Duong said
work on the project went on even during holidays and the Covid-19 pandemic
and it was 85% complete. The project,
once in place, will connect the city’s current business hub with the Thu
Thiem New Urban Area in Thu Duc City, encourage the development of the
eastern tech-driven urban area and contribute to reducing traffic congestion
in the city. The slow site
clearance had affected the project’s progress. However, the obstacle has been
removed since early this year, Duong said. Due to the
pandemic, the investor has asked contractors, consultants and relevant
agencies to apply the stay-at-work mode and comply with anti-pandemic
measures to ensure safety for laborers. On the same
day, Luong Minh Phuc, director of the Transportation Works Construction
Investment Project Management Authority of HCMC, reported the progress
of the development of infrastructure facilities on nine land lots of the Thu
Thiem New Urban Area. The
technical infrastructure development on the nine land lots will add value to
the land lots and facilitate the quick development of the Thu Thiem New Urban
Area. The project will also be connected to the Thu Thiem 2 Bridge to improve
the effectiveness of traffic infrastructure projects. Phuc said
the project was a key one, which helped put the nine land lots up for auction
to create revenue for the city. The main technical infrastructure packages
have been completed and a package to plant trees and install lighting
equipment is expected for completion before October 15. The
Transportation Works Construction Investment Project Management Authority of
HCMC will complete the infrastructure facilities of six land lots before
October 15 and accelerate the progress of the remaining packages to complete
the entire project. Several relic and tourist sites reopen nationwide Several
relic sites and tourist attractions across the country have reopened as they
aim to welcome the return of tourists following a prolonged social distancing
period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose
of the move is to gradually restore the local tourism industry after being
severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a means
of ensuring COVID-19 prevention and control, visitors are required to abide
by the Health Ministry’s 5K message, while simultaneously scanning QR codes
to complete a medical declaration. As a result of safety measures, guests
will only be able to visit outdoor areas. Furthermore,
the province Thua Thien - Hue province is also applying half-prices tickets
for tourists to visit the relics of the Complex of Hue Monuments. Elsewhere,
the northern city of Hai Phong has also permitted the re-opening of tourist
attractions in the region from October 1, while the spiritual-ecological
tourist site of Tay Yen Tu,
Suoi Mo eco-tourism area, and some golf courses in the northern province of
Bac Giang have also been permitted to resume activities. Other
northern localities, including Vinh Phuc, Quang Ninh, and Thanh Hoa have also
welcomed back domestic tourists, while several resorts in Sa Pa (Lao Cai) and
Hoa Binh are currently only receiving visitors from ‘green zones’. Some
localities in the south-central and central region such as Khanh Hoa and Da
Nang have also resumed beach services, while Quang Binh province is also
permitting travel firms to welcome vaccinated tourists to participate in
closed tours. In the
central highlands of Lam Dong, the Provincial People's Committee has moved to
reopen tourism services, with lodging facilities from two-star facilities
being permmited to operate at 50% capacity. Restaurants and sidewalk
shops have also resumed their operations by serving no more than 50% of
the number of guests at the same time. Most
notably, the south-central province of Binh Thuan also plans to pilot
welcoming the return of domestic and foreign tourists living in Vietnam as of
October 20. In Ho Chi
Minh City, Cu Chi and Can Gio districts also lauched their first closed tours
on September 19, with more tours expected to be launched in the near future. Tour guides
and visitors under tourism schemes in these localites are required to have a
negative test result for SARS-CoV-2, or alternatively to have received two
jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine. Residents in HCMC venturing out without legitimate reasons still
fined From October
1, residents in HCMC venturing out without a legitimate reason may still be
subject to sanctions, HCMC Vice Chairman Vo Van Hoan said in the “Residents
Ask-the City Answers” program on September 30. Hoan said
residents could travel in the city. Before going out, however, residents
should temporarily use the VNEID and Y te HCM (HCM health) mobile apps to
declare their destination and health condition. If they do
not have smartphones to download the two apps, they can produce proof of
their recovery from Covid-19 in the last 180 days or their partial or full
vaccination done 14 days earlier. Although the
city has removed Covid checkpoints on the street, it has sent out mobile
patrol teams that are responsible for conducting random checks on the
movement of people and vehicles on the streets. Answering
questions about the movement of residents in HCMC’s adjacent areas to the
city for work, Hoan said HCMC, Binh Duong, Long An and Dong Nai are the
epicenters of the coronavirus pandemic but also industrial production hubs of
the southern region. Production
and business activities in HCMC are connected closely to its neighboring
provinces. To create conditions for laborers from these provinces to HCMC for
work using their personal vehicles, the city and these localities have
reached a consensus on their movement. Specifically,
laborers must be vaccinated and make travel declarations. The city will also
cooperate with localities and enterprises to arrange vehicles to transport
them. FPT boarding school in Da Nang raises 1,000 children orphaned by
Covid-19 FPT
Corporation announced that FPT Boarding School is finishing the formalities
necessary for the learning program to raise about 1,000 children who
unfortunately lost their parents due to pandemic-associated deaths. FPT Boarding
School in the urban complex FPT City Da Nang in the central region will admit
children from 6-18 years old nationwide in poverty-stricken families who wish
to participate in the program with the approval of their legal guardian. FPT will
give them scholarships until the child reaches the age of 18 or graduates
from high school if they wish to attend university or master's degree at FPT.
Currently, FPT, the Hope Fund and other related units are preparing to
welcome the children. Currently,
Thien Long Group Joint Stock Company and FPT Joint Stock Company have signed
a memorandum of understanding to together raise the children. Thien Long
Group will offer 5,000 gifts including learning equipment and entertainment
tools to students of FPT Boarding School for five years from 2021 to 2025,
each gift is worth VND400,000. Female players win nine golds at Eastern Asia Youth Chess
Championship The
Vietnamese female team bagged nine gold, five silver, and four bronze medals
at the 2021 Eastern Asia Youth Chess Championship which was held virtually
from September 24 to September 29. The players
compete in separate six age groups ranging from 8 to 18 for both men and
women. They compete
in a rapid chess format, with each contestant participating in nine games to
seek positions in the individual category. The top
three positions of each team are calculated based on total points to finalise
the rankings. Male
competitions are set to get underway between October 1 and 3. Programme launched to assist workers in HCM City as social
distancing loosened The Ho Chi
Minh City Centre for Youth Employment Services is implementing a programme
dubbed “Zero-dong housing – free quick test – get a job immediately” from
October 1 to November 30 to support labourers affected by the COVID-19
pandemic. Accordingly,
job seekers can contact the centre via its hotline or go to the centre office
for job advice. They will get a free quick test for COVID-19 before going to
a job interview or starting a job. In addition, they will be introduced to
free or cheap housing. Nguyen Van
Sang, Deputy Director of the centre, said that the outbreak of COVID-19 and
prolonged social distancing have made a large number of workers stop working
or lose their jobs. Therefore, when the city gradually eases the social
distancing towards the new normal, it is a good opportunity for workers to
seek employment. For businesses, this is also an opportunity to attract
workforce after the temporary shutdown. According to
Sang, accompanying this programme, there are Youth Unions of 63 provinces and
cities nationwide and 150 enterprises that offer over 10,000 jobs. This
programme is one of the immediate solutions to help not only labourers but
also businesses to restore production and business after a long period of
suspension due to social distancing./. HCMC authorities try not to close city again While
attending the program "People ask - The city answers", Vice
Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Vo Van Hoan on
September 30 said HCMC tries not to open the door and close it again. Mr. Hoan was
talking about the Directive of the municipal People's Committee from October
1 and the policy to support people bumping into difficulties due to the
Covid-19 epidemic. Answering a
question about opening and closing, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City
People's Committee Vo Van Hoan shared, the city tries not to let that happen;
however, the loosening and opening will be done step by step. Vo Van Hoan
also stated that, in the "new normal" state, the city authorities
have been considering epidemic prevention and economic recovery with a focus
on economic development, job creation, creation of financial resources for
the city’s fight against Covid-19, and vice versa. City
authorities will try to provide a safe living environment for dwellers while
reducing the spread of Covid-19 and all residents should take part in the
fight against Covid-19. Vo Van Hoan also emphasized business owners must be
responsible for epidemic prevention providing a safe working and living
environment for workers in the workplace. Regarding
the support for the third phase, Vo Van Hoan said that the city tries to give
financial support within the first 15 days of October 2021. City dwellers
will receive cash. Viettel receives two more exclusive patents in US The military-run
telecom provider Viettel announced on September 30 that it has received
two more exclusive patents in the US for its two new inventions
which were developed by a group of young engineers. As of the
end of August this year, Viettel had a total of 339 domestic patent
applications and 49 others in the US. Of which, it had received 44 patents in
Vietnam and seven others in the US. Each year,
the number of Viettel’s exclusive patents increases by 142 percent, up nearly
8 times from the average rise of 18 percent by domestic firms. Viettel is
taking the lead in carrying out the country’s intellectual property strategy
till 2030 with the goal of increasing the number of patent applications and
patents by 16-18 percent annually on average./. HCMC police launch campaign against criminals after easing of
restrictions The HCMC
Department of Public Security on September 30 launched a campaign to crack
down on criminals to maintain social order after some restrictions have been
slightly eased in the city starting on October 1. Major
General Le Hong Nam, director of the municipal Department of Public Security
said that the program aims to tighten measures against crimes and criminals
that may increase, especially types of crime including robbery, theft and
burglary, illegal drug use, illegal 'black credit' and illicit consumption of
stolen assets. He asked the
police departments of districts and Thu Duc City to actively create action
response plans to protect national security and maintain social safety and
order, and ensure that losses are kept to a minimum as well as strengthen
patrol, inspection and control duties. In addition,
the police units must promote propaganda on Covid-19 regulations, encourage
people not to rush back to homelands caused serious congestion because
Covid-19 checkpoints were more crowded. Speaking at
the event, Vice Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Ngo Minh Chau highly
appreciated outstanding contribution of the city’s police to the prevention
and control of the pandemic in the city. The
municipal authorities has called on the whole political system, including the
city’s Department of Police that is always be the frontline force to join
hands to combat the virus. Credit package proposed to support students in equipment
purchase for online study
The Ministry
of Finance has proposed to the Government a credit package to support poor
pupils and students in buying computers and equipment serving their online
learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the
proposal, students from poor and near-poor families as well as those facing
difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including students whose fathers
or mothers died of the disease, will be enabled to get loans to buy computers
under support of the “computers and Internet services for children”
programme. According to
the ministry, eligible students are those who have no computer and equipment
for online study and have not yet received any support in the field. The People’s
Committees of communes and wards are responsible to make and verify the lists
of beneficiaries before submitting to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies
for approval. The maximum
value of the loans will be 7 million VND (307 USD) per student, according to
the proposal, which estimates that the total capital for the scheme is about
3.5 trillion VND (153.86 million USD). The duration of the loans is under one
year with a zero percent interest rate. The scheme
will be conducted right after the Prime Minister approve it until March 31,
2022. Initially,
resources for the scheme will come from the 7.5 trillion VND credit package
that is being implemented by the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies, which was
designed for employers to borrow to pay salaries for their employees but
received few requests./. Vietnamese Ambassador explores cooperation chances with
Tanzanian island district Vietnamese
Ambassador to Tanzania Nguyen Nam Tien paid a working visit to Mafia island
district in Pwani province of Tanzania from September 27-29. The trip aimed
to learn about the district's socio-economic development, infrastructure and
traffic systems linking the island with the mainland, with a focus on the
development of the coconut industry, marine resource conservation and
tourism, thereby promoting bilateral cooperation chances. It was part
of the Vietnamese Embassy's working programme in 2021 in an effort to foster
the Vietnam-Tanzania friendship, especially cooperation between
localities of the two countries. During the
trip, the Vietnamese Ambassador studied experience of local people and
authorities in capitalising on economic and tourism values of coconut, as the
cultivation area of the tree accounts for 84 percent of the island’s
agricultural land. He also paid
a visit to the Mafia Island Marine Park (MIMP), the first of its
kind in Tanzania and also serves as a marine protected area. The MIMP has
formed a sustainable fishing habit amongst local fishermen and held regular
patrol to keep a watch and detect violations. Such timely measures have improved
coral reefs and fishery resources at the MIMP and surrounding areas which
were degraded between 1980 and 1990./. HCMC obtains vaccination target thanks to fast inoculation
drives As of
September 28, HCMC administered more than 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses,
becoming the locality with the fastest vaccination speed in the country.
Vaccination is the top priority for the southern hub’s reopening and new
normal state, said the city’s leaders. The HCMC
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC) reported that 332,119 more
people received Covid-19 vaccine shots on September 28, bringing the total
doses administered in the HCMC to 10,117,641. In which, a total of 3,271,613
people have fully got two shots. 13 among 21
districts reached a 100-percent vaccination rate among people aged 18 and
over. Deputy
Director of HCDC, Dr. Nguyen Hong Tam said that HCMC has continuously
received vaccine doses from the Ministry of Health and enhanced the
vaccination task forces to administer allocated vaccine doses. The city has
planned to achieve 100 percent first dose vaccination for all people above 18
years by September 30 and offer the second dose to 2.6 million people from
October 1-15, 1.4 million individuals on December 31. As of
September 29, HCMC is the country’s locality receiving the largest number of
vaccine doses of 9.7 million that have been given to people of 18 plus,
especially priority groups including the frontline forces, persons aged 65
and older and those with underlying medical conditions. So far, more than 1.1
million persons aged 65 and over have been vaccinated. To have all
people over 50 fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus and inoculate
migrant workers who come back to the city for work, HCMC needs more vaccine
doses. In addition,
the municipal Department of Education and Training has suggested the HCMC
People’s Committee to schedule a student vaccination that can help high
schools and secondary schools safely return to in-person learning in the second
semester with around 642,000 students, said Dr. Nguyen Hong Tam. The city has
continuously proposed the Ministry of Health for additional allocation of
vaccine doses and sought other sources of vaccine purchases on its own,
creating advantage for residents to receive the “Covid Green Card” and
bringing life back to the new normal state after months-long social
distancing measures. UN Women supports victims of gender-based violence The UN Women
Vietnam on September 30 handed over essential equipment worth 483.4 million
VND (21,200 USD) to three Peace House Shelters in Hanoi and the Mekong Delta
city of Can Tho to upgrade free helpline (1900 969680) in order to improve
responses to domestic and international calls and reports of violence against
women, and to continue to improve the overall quality of the support services
for victims of violence and human trafficking. The
assistance is part of UN Women’s efforts to put an end to violence and human
trafficking targeting women in the ASEAN region. According to
UN Women, along with impacts on the socio-economic situation, the COVID-19
pandemic has caused a rise in violence against women and children. Addressing
the hand-over ceremony, Elisa Fernandez Saenz, UN Women Country
Representative in Vietnam, said that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,
coupled with rigorous response measures, has exacerbated pre-existing
limitations regarding services to respond to violence against women and
children. Therefore, support to upgrade these services is necessary, not only
in the context of COVID-19, but in the long term to ensure the dignity,
survival and social integration of women who are victims of violence and
human trafficking. UN Women is delighted to accompany Peace House Shelters in
this journey, she stated. In early
2021, within the framework of an urgent response to violence against women
and children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and funded by the Australian
Government, UN Women donated equipment worth nearly 1.5 billion VND (660,000
USD) to improve the quality of support services for women and children who
are victims of gender-based violence. To overcome
systemic challenges posed by limited state budget allocation, UN Women is
committed to continue supporting the Peace House Shelters across the nation
to upgrade psychological counseling services and to strengthen overall
coordination and connection to provide more holistic support to women and
child survivors in Vietnam, said the UN Women representative. Meanwhile,
Duong Ngoc Linh, Director of the Center for Women and Development which is in
charge of the Peace House Shelters, thanked UN Women for the efforts. She
affirmed that the equipment is a meaningful gift which motivates all
employees who are always committed to the peace of women and children. In the
meantime, it contributes to the completion of the service package to support
women and children experiencing gender-based violence, especially in the
context of the COVID-19 crisis, she added. The helpline
number 1900 969680, along with a counseling room, and the three Peace House
Shelters all run by the Centre for Women and Development under the Vietnam
Women's Union, were established to provide emergency and comprehensive
support services for women and children experiencing domestic violence,
sexual abuse and trafficking. After 19
years of operation in Hanoi, and four years in Can Tho, the helpline has
counselled on 8,063 cases, amounting to 9,850 survivors over the course of
12,961 calls. In addition, 3,424 women and child survivors of gender-based
violence from 50 provinces and 17 ethnic minority regions were supported
in-person at the Peace House Shelters. Since the
start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of consultations via both the
helpline and social media channels of the Peace House Shelters increased
seven times compared to 2019, and in the first six months of 2021, the number
of callers increased 140 percent compared to the same period of 2020. The
Peace House Shelters have coordinated with local authorities in crisis
counseling and emergency intervention, intervening in nearly 30 cases, an
increase of 40 percent compared to the same period last year. Victims and
witnesses of violence against women and children can report and seek help via
hotline 1900 969680./. Preferential loans for women whose businesses have been affected
by pandemic Preferential
loans will be offered to women whose businesses have been affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to Tình Thương One Member Limited Liability
Microfinance Institution (TYM). As an
associate of the Việt Nam Women’s Association, TYM will give priority to
projects which employ women with disabilities, women with or affected by
HIV/AIDS and disadvantaged women. After
receiving the loan, borrowers enjoy a grace period of up to eight weeks and
preferential interest rates thereafter. Borrowers can also access two
microfinance loans from TYM, each worth up to VNĐ50 million (US$2,185). Lê Thị T.
from Nam Đàn District, the central province of Nghệ An, was one of the first
people who accessed the COVID-19 loans. She said
when Nghệ An implemented social distancing measures, turnover from her rice
noodle business fell as she made could not go to consumers, or her customers
had to delay paying her. As a result, she did not have the fund to continue
her business. “After
hearing about TYM’s preferential loans, I applied to borrow VNĐ15 million,”
she said. Thanks to the loan, and the gradual relaxing of social distancing
measures, she expects business to soon improve. Last month
TYM also launched employment loans aimed at promoting production in business;
the knock-on effect of this fiscal input will be the creation of more jobs
for local people. Borrowers could access loans of up to VNĐ100 million
($4,370). Households
that participate in the “One Commune-One Product”, a scheme to promote
Vietnamese farming products, or households that implement Vietnamese Good
Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) will be prioritised for these employment
loans. During the
pandemic, TYM has reduced borrowing interest rates ten times and extended
repayment dates for customers affected by the pandemic. TYM
originates from the Tình Thương fund launched by the Việt Nam Women’s Union
in 1992, as part of the government’s hunger elimination and poverty reduction
programme, while improving women’s status within and outside the home. TYM provides
loans or microfinance for low-income people, many of them poor and vulnerable
women. Its members can return the debt by sending their savings to TYM’s
branches daily, weekly or monthly, and can withdraw at any time. Coach happy with win, team get bonus after getting Asian Cup
place Coach Mai
Đức Chung is happy with Việt Nam's 7-0 win over Tajikistan in the last
Group B match of the AFC Asian Women's Cup qualification
in Dushanbe on Wednesday. Their second
win put them top of the group and was enough to qualify for the finals which
will be held in India January 20 to February 6, 2022. "Việt
Nam made just a few challenge in the first half because we knew almost
nothing about our rival," said Chung. "They
played better than the previous match. But we managed to step it up
in the second half in which my players performed better and scored more
goals. I am happy with the final result," he said. The visitors
proved their power from the beginning, pushing Tajikistan in defence. It took 14
minutes to open the scoring through striker Nguyễn Hải Yến who completed
her double with a beautiful volley in the second half. These were
her seventh and eighth goals in two matches. Previously she scored a
double hattrick in Việt Nam's 16-0 win over Maldives. Midfielder
Nguyễn Thị Bích Thùy also scored goals in each half, assisted for both by
veteran Phạm Hoàng Quỳnh who returned to the national team a two year
break when she had a baby. Yến, who was
busy throughout the match, was fouled in the box five minutes into the
second half and Việt Nam were awarded a penalty. Captain Cù Thị Huỳnh
Như slotted home past Tajikistan goalkeeper Saiyora Saidova. With the
game drawing to a close, defender Hoàng Thị Loan headed home to make it
six on 84 minutes. And in the
last seconds of the game, substitute Nguyễn Thị Vạn tapped home from close
range to seal a 7-0 victory for Việt Nam. Speaking to
media after the match, midfielder Thùy said: "We scored and we won. We
are all happy and proud that we advance to the finals." With 23
goals in two matches, Việt Nam overcome South Korea to be the best
scoring team in the qualifiers. Their strikers are considered the sharpest of
the tournament. The Việt Nam
Football Federation's President Lê Khánh Hải presented VNĐ500 million
(US$22,000) for their second win. Hải had
already gave them VNĐ300 million ($13,200) for their 16-0 win over Maldives
last week. "We
will have short break after quarantine time at home. And then we will be back
for practising for the finals," said Chung. The Asian
Cup is the 2023 World Cup qualification. Việt Nam will be one of 12 team
vying for the title. The five best will automatically qualify for the World
Cup. Vietnam treasures development of stable, healthy, sustainable
ties with China: Minister The
Vietnamese Party, Government, and people attach great importance to the
development of stable, healthy and sustainable relations with the Chinese
Party, Government and people, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong
Dien has said. Dien, who is
also a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee, made the
statement in a video clip sent to the Chinese people via the Chinese Embassy
in Hanoi to congratulate them on the 72nd founding anniversary of
the People's Republic of China (October 1, 1949 - 2021). In his
speech, the minister congratulated the Chinese Party, Government, and people
on the great achievements they have obtained over the past 72 years. He believed
that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, with General
Secretary and President Xi Jinping as the core, the Chinese people will
continue to gain many new victories, making important contributions to the
overall development and prosperity of the region and the world. The minister
stressed that given complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Vietnam and China should step up cooperation and create strong impetus for
their recovery and economic development; and coordinate to effectively
implement common perceptions reached by their senior Party and State leaders
as well as those achieved at the recent 13th session of the Steering
Committee for Vietnam - China Bilateral Cooperation. The two
nations need to promote economic and trade cooperation towards a more
sustainable direction in the time to come, he noted./. More efforts urged to deal with flood consequences in central,
southern regions The Standing
Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and
Control on September 30 requested central, Central Highlands and southern
provinces and cities to continue carrying out measures to address
consequences caused by recent heavy rains and flooding, and closely monitor
water flows into reservoirs. Localities
were asked to assign personnel on duty around the clock, regularly report to
the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster
Prevention and Control and the Office of the National Committee for Incident
and Disaster Response and Search and Rescue when any incident occurs. On September
29 afternoon, heavy downpours made a new stone wall collapse, killing two and
injuring two others in Da Lat city of the Central Highlands province of Lam
Dong. The steering
committee advised locals to be highly vigilant, carefully observe strange
geological phenomena, and quickly move away from areas where flash floods may
occur. Localities
in flood-affected areas should inspect unsafe houses in mountainous areas and
residential areas along rivers and streams, and areas at risk of flooding and
landslides, and get plans ready to evacuate residents in high-risk areas to
safe places./. Reforms could ensure higher growth rates as Vietnam’s population
ages Vietnam’s
economic growth could slow as its population ages, squeezing public finance
and stressing the service delivery system, unless timely reforms are set in
motion, a new World Bank report finds. Vietnam is
going through the demographic transition to an older society at an earlier
stage of economic development and a lower level of per capita income than
other countries who have experienced a similar shift, according
to Vietnam: Adapting to an Aging Society, jointly produced by the World
Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The prospect
of “getting old before getting rich” means that Vietnam faces a set of
important challenges whose solutions require making hard policy choices. “Vietnam has
been good at tapping into an abundant work force to drive economic growth
over the past three decades,” said Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country
Director for Vietnam. “As Vietnam’s population ages, it will be important to
build the skills of the workforce to boost innovation and productivity in the
economy, while ensuring that pension reforms begin now to sustain livelihoods
for the elderly in the decades to come.” With falling
birth rates and a rising life expectancy, Vietnam’s elderly are expected to
account for between 10% to just under 20% of its population by 2035.
Vietnam’s old age dependency ratio, the number of people over 65 divided by
the number of those of working age, is estimated to double from 0.11 in 2019
to 0.22 in 2039. The report
finds that long-term growth over the period 2020–2050 will slow by 0.9
percentage points compared with the last 15 years as its population ages. At
the same time, addressing the needs of an aging society is forecast to cost
between 1.4% to 4.6% of GDP in additional expenditure. Expanding coverage and
improving service quality will drive growth in fiscal costs. The report
offers recommendations on how Vietnam can manage the aging of its population
effectively, based on lessons learned in other countries that have experienced
a similar demographic transition including Japan, in particular. It suggests
reforms to help improve labor force participation and productivity, increase
the efficiency of public expenditures, and strengthen service delivery
system. The report
also recommends policy actions in four areas most affected by the aging
trends: labor market, pension, health, and aging care. “Since
becoming a super-aged nation in 1960s, Japan has experienced various
implications of aging, particularly those related to adjusting social
protection programs and promoting community-based care,” said Shimizu
Akira, Chief Representative of JICA Vietnam Office. “There have been a lot of
successes, and also many bitter experiences. We hope these shared lessons
will be useful for Vietnam to not only cope with the demographic shift but
also to benefit from it.” The report
is a part of a JICA and World Bank joint program to assist Vietnamese
policy-makers in preparing for an aging society. AFC hails Hai Yen’s performance in Asian Cup qualifiers Vietnamese
footballer Pham Hai Yen has been named among the top six players who lit up
the qualifiers for the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India, according to an
article published on the official website of the Asian Football Confederation
(AFC). “A
half-time substitute in Vietnam’s record 16-0 win over the Maldives, she helped
herself to a remarkable six goals in 33 minutes before adding two more
against Tajikistan as Mai Duc Chung’s side sealed their qualification,” says
the website. It adds that
whilst she has long been considered a lethal finisher at both domestic and regional
level, the Vietnamese player will be looking to make her mark on the stage of
all in the continental tournament. This could potentially go further, perhaps
she could even lead an ever-improving Vietnam to their first ever FIFA
Women’s World Cup. Rounding off
the list of the AFC’s top six are Moon Mi-ra of the Republic of Korea,
Janista Jinantuya of Thailand, Zahra Muzdalifah of Indonesia, Behnaz
Taherkhani of IR Iran, and Chandler McDaniel of the Philippines. Quang Nam to waive school fees for thousands of children Over 40,000
children living in outbreak areas in Quang Nam Province will have their
tuition fees waived for the first semester. Quang Nam
People's Council has approved waiving the tuition fees on September 29. The
move will cost VND14bn (USD612,500). The students
include those who live in Hoi An and Dien Ban Town which are under strict
social distancing rules and those who had left Hoi An and Dien Ban to return
to their home provinces. Dien Ban
Town has 26,656 students and Hoi An has 13,923 students. There are also 772
students who returned to their home provinces. Phan Viet
Cuong, chairman of Quang Nam People's Council hoped that the plan would help
share some burdens with the parents and students as everyone had been badly
affected by the pandemic. PM requires to study specific regulations to reopen HCMC economy The
Government Office has just sent an official letter to Minister of Health
Nguyen Thanh Long and Head of the Government's Special Working Group and
Deputy Minister of National Defense, Senior Lieutenant General Vo Minh Luong
to announce the opinion of the Prime Minister on studying, proposing specific
regulations to reopen the economy according to HCMC’s proposal. Accordingly,
the Prime Minister assigned Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long to chair and
collaborate with Deputy Minister of National Defense, Senior Lieutenant
General Vo Minh Luong to study, give and report detailed proposals to Deputy
Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam. Deputy Prime
Minister Le Minh Khai has just signed Decision No.1639/QD-TTG on setting up a
fund to acquire 20 million doses of Vero Cell vaccines against Covid-19
produced by China's Sinopharm following the proposals of the Ministry of
Finance and the Ministry of Health. By September
29, the Ministry of Health confirmed 23,568 more recovered Covid-19 cases
which is the highest number of recovered patients in a day since the pandemic
outbreak in the country, bringing the total recovered ones to 583,509. On the same
day, the country recorded 162 deaths related to Covid-19 in 11 provinces and
cities, bringing the total number of deaths due to the disease to 19,098,
accounting for 2.5 percent of the total infections. Besides, the National
Management System for Covid-19 cases updated 8,758 more SARS-CoV-2
infections, including 4,984 cases in the community. On the same
day, the working delegation of the Ministry of Health and the experts
involving in the clinical trial of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccine named ARCT-154
vaccines worked with leaders of Yen Phong District, Bac Ninh Province where
is being performed a clinical trial of this vaccine. The first
routine of ARCT-154 vaccines was completed in two provinces of Bac Ninh and
Vinh Long. It is expected that the phase 3a will be finished on November 24.
The experts will review and report the result of the trials on December 30
and if the result meets the requirements, they will submit to the authorities
for granting an emergency license of the vaccine. In related
news of vaccine against Covid-19, a ceremony to handle over one million doses
of Hayat-Vax Covid-19 vaccine, which are manufactured in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE), between G42 Medications Trading LLC and Vietnam Medical
Products Import – Export Joint Stock Company (Vimedimex) took place in Noi
Bai International Airport in the capital city of Hanoi in the early morning
of September 29. Virtual filmmaking course offered to young Vietnamese filmmakers The Center
for Assistance and Development of Movie Talents (TPD) under the Vietnam
Cinema Association in collaboration with the UNESCO will offer a filmmaking
course to young Vietnamese filmmakers with the support of of the General
Delegation Wallonia – Brussels (Belgium) in Vietnam, HKFilm, WallSound, Hanoi
Grapevine and Colab Vietnam. The course
called ON THE REEL Film Lab aims to provide basic knowledge to help young
filmmakers develop short film projects, find a suitable production route and
self-orient a filmmaking career. Participants
aged over 18 include scriptwriter, director, producer have experience in
making at least one short film. The judge
will select six short film projects for two cash prizes, two audio
post-production package from the sponsor Wallsound and two packages of camera
and lighting equipment from the sponsor HKFilm. The course
has the guidance and participation of many prestigious domestic and foreign
directors and filmmakers, consisting of director Pimpaka Towira, director
Pham Ngoc Lan, director Truong Minh Quy, director Bui Kim Quy, director Trinh
Dinh Le Minh. ON THE REEL
Film Lab, which will be held online via Zoom platform from October 5 – 18,
includes two workshops alternating with discussions among participants and
mentors to strengthen and complete the project. The course
is part of the project E-MOTIONS: Mobilizing film professionals for regional
cooperation which is being conducted by UNESCO and cooperative partners, with
the support from the Trust Fund of Japan. The project aims to enhance the
capacity and empowerment of filmmakers, as well as organize activities to
connect domestic filmmakers with their peers in the region. COVID-19: 6,957 cases added to national tally Vietnam
recorded 6,957 COVID-19 infections, including 16 imported cases, in the past
24 hours to 5pm on October 1, according to the Ministry of Health. Ho Chi Minh
City, the country’s current largest pandemic hotspot, continued to report the
highest number of infections with 3,670 cases. It was followed by
neighbouring Binh Duong province with 1,787 cases, Dong Nai 735, An Giang
116, and Long An 107. The capital city of Hanoi reported eight cases. The country
has to date logged 797,712 COVID-19 cases. A total of
27,250 patients were given the all-clear on October 1, raising the number of
recoveries to 636,081. Meanwhile,
136 deaths related to COVID-19 were announced on the day, raising the death
toll to 19,437. As of the
end of September 30, over 42.88 million people had been vaccinated with at
least one dose of COVID-19 vaccines, with more than 9.8 million already
receiving full two shots./. Three out of five latest community COVID-19 cases in Hanoi are
foreigners The Hà Nội
Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) announced five community cases on Friday
morning, including three foreigners. One is a
55-year-old Korean man who works at Samon Tech Company in Nam An Khánh
Commune, Hoài Đức District. He tested positive at the Menicar Clinic. He
received his second COVID-19 vaccine on September 13 and was planning on
returning to Korea. The second
community case is a 51-year-old Japanese male, living in Room 602 of Pan
Pacific Hotel in Trúc Bạch Ward, Ba Đình District. He works at Toyota Tsusho
Company in Liễu Giai Ward, Ba Đình District. The final
community case among the foreign community is a Japanese man, 31 years old,
living in Quảng An Ward, Tây Hồ District. He tested positive for
COVID-19 on Thursday. The other
two community cases are Vietnamese nationals. One was a 41-year-old man from
Xuân Phương Commune, Nam Từ Liêm District, who often travelled to Việt Trì
City in the northern province of Phú Thọ. He tested negative for COVID-19 on
September 12 when he got the second COVID-19 vaccine jab. On September
21, he took a quick COVID-19 test in order to get a permit to travel to Phú
Thọ. On September 30 he tested positive for COVID-19 at Hà Nội's Medlatec
Hospital. The other
Vietnamese positive case is a 35-year-old man in CT4A, Mễ Trì Thượng, Nam Từ
Liêm District. He is a customer care officer at the Agribank at 135 Lạc Long
Quân, Cầu Giấy District. He also received his second COVID-19 vaccination in
September. On
Wednesday, he took a COVID-19 test to get a permit to travel out of the city
and tested positive. On Thursday
evening, CDC Hà Nội confirmed two other community cases – a caregiver at Việt
Đức Hospital and a food seller/delivery man at the hospital gate. Three
provinces, Hà Tĩnh, Nam Định and Hưng Yên, have reported a total of five
COVID-19 cases related to the Việt Đức Hospital in the last few days. A total of
1,443 testing samples have been taken from patients’ caregivers and staff
working at Việt Đức Hospital’s building D where the community COVID-19 case
was found. As of Friday noon, all samples have come back negative. Since April
29 when the fourth wave of COVID-19 pandemic hit Việt Nam, Hà Nội has
reported 3,981 cases. 1,608 of those cases have been found in the community. Trương Quang
Việt, vice director of CDC Hà Nội, said that as Hà Nội relaxed social
distancing measures, the city must accept the risk of new community cases and
even new COVID-19 clusters, and prepare appropriately. “Depending
on certain developments of the pandemic, the authority will have specific
responses,” he said. After
two-month social distancing, on September 21 Hà Nội's authorities decided to
relax social distancing measures, allowing people to go out without travel
permits. Earlier, the
Secretariat of the city Party Committee Đinh Tiến Dũng said that the city
would take flexible but cautious moves to ensure disease prevention and
control would be managed, as well as economic recovery. HCM City supermarkets receive few customers on reopening day Many
supermarkets in HCM City have received just a few customers after reopening
due to the tight Covid-19 prevention regulations. According to
current regulations, only people who have got at least one dose of the
Covid-19 vaccine are allowed to come to supermarkets. BigC To Hien
Thanh Supermarket in District 10 was very quiet on the first day reopening on
October 1. Tran Thị
Thuy Linh said that she needed to show a paper showing she had got Covid-19
vaccine, make health declarations and take temperatures before entering the
supermarket. Vinmart+ Ho
Ba Kien also received just a few customers on October 1. According to
a shop assistant, they were only allowed to receive five customers at a time
and all customers must have vaccine certificates. Speaking to
Dantri/Dtinews on October 1, vice director of the municipal Department of
Industry and Trade, Nguyen Nguyen Phuong said that they were still waiting
for detailed instructions from the city people's committee to issue green
cards for people to be admitted to public places including shopping centres. Earlier,
people in HCM City bought things online or through local authorities during
the social distancing period which lasted over four months. Source:
VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes |
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