VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES DECEMBER 7  17:01                                   PMs of Vietnam-Netherlands hold phone talks Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh appreciated and thanked the Government of the Netherlands for donation of medical equipment and supplies worth VND40 billion, during his phone conversation with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte yesterday. He suggested the Netherlands soon ratify the EU-Vietnam investment protection agreement in a bid to further strengthen trade and investment cooperation between the two nations. The two Prime Ministers agreed on a list of future programs to be jointly carried out by the two countries and worked out orientations to enhance cooperation in seaports, education, tourism, sustainable agriculture and food security. They also discussed how both countries would step up cooperation at multilateral forums over international and regional issues, including the East Sea issue. Prime Minister Pham took the occasion to invite Prime Minister Rutte to visit Viet Nam again while the latter invited Pham to visit the Netherlands. Vietnam's Health Ministry calls for keeping close watch on entrants  The Health Ministry has sent a dispatch to chairpersons of municipal and provincial People’s Committees on strengthening COVID-19 prevention and control measures against Omicron variant. The Ministry called for keeping a close watch on foreign arrivals especially those from countries in Southern Africa in an effort to prevent the Omicron variant from spreading domestically. Units in charge of testing foreign arrivals for COVID-19 are required to strictly comply with preventive measures to avoid cross-infections at quarantine facilities and transmission from quarantine facilities to the community. Untruthful medical declaration or failure to abide by quarantine regulations will be strictly punished.  The ministry urged localities to develop plans to respond to different pandemic situation, speed up vaccine rollout, and strictly control borders. So far, Vietnam has yet confirmed any case of Omicron transmission. HCM City: Up to 70% of parents don't want to let 1st graders return to school More than 70% of parents of first-graders in HCMC have declined to allow their children to return to school under the municipal government’s pilot scheme to reopen in-person classes, according to a recent survey conducted by the HCMC Department of Education and Training. Among the 131,244 parents who responded, a mere 36,316 parents, or 29.8%, have agreed to allow their children to come back to in-person classes as fears of Covid-19 remain widespread. Children under 12 have yet to be vaccinated, so if they have Covid, they would become a source of infection for their family members, especially old people and those with underlying health conditions.  Nhon-Hanoi metro trains put on trial speed run Trains on the Nhon-Hanoi Train station metro lines were put on a trial run at a maximum speed of 80km per hour on December 6 to check the operation quality as well as the synchronisation between the information, signals, and control systems. The trains departed from the S1 Station (Nhon) and ran to S8 Station (Cau Giay District) and returned. The distance between the two stations is 8.5 km. The designed maximum speed of the trains is 80km per hour. But in reality, it is hard for the train to increase to that speed because the distance between two stations is around 1km. The average speed of the trains will be 35km per hour and the trains could reach a speed of up to 70km per hour at the middle of the two stations. The trial run at the maximum speed is important to examine the operational quality of the trains and assess safety. Japan grants US$253,000 aid to three projects in Vietnam The signing ceremony of an aid agreement for three projects with a total value of US$253,912 was just held within the framework of the grassroots non-refundable aid program of the Japanese Government. Of the projects, two are to build rural roads in Krong Nang District in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak to ensure safety for daily travel and facilitate the transportation of agricultural products of local people. The third project is to equip a digital C-arm system for the Medical Center of Dien Khanh District in Khanh Hoa Province for diagnosis to be quick and accurate. From 1995 to the end of 2020, Japan had provided aid to 208 projects in 26 Southern provinces and cities, with a total value of more than $16.71 million, mainly in the fields of meeting the basic living needs of people, such as education, health care, agriculture, and rural infrastructure. Over 80% of Covid-19 patients in Hanoi have mild symptoms The city has 4,651 Covid-19 patients, including 3,902 or 83.9 percent of which are asymptomatic or having only mild symptoms. Another 699 have medium symptoms and roughly 50 are in critical condition. Experts said that the high coverage of the Covid-19 vaccination has helped to reduce the rate of patients with worsened conditions. Hanoi has arranged three levels of Covid-19 treatment. The first is local medical stations and at home, the second and the third are city hospitals and central hospitals. According to an official from the Hanoi Centre for Disease Control, the city will have flexible measures to respond to the pandemic situation and will not apply tight social distancing measures as previously.  Nearly 14,600 new COVID-19 cases recorded on Dec. 6 Vietnam’s COVID caseload continues to rise with 14,591 new infections announced on Monday, along with 223 deaths. This is the highest number of new cases recorded in a day since September 3. The national tally now stands at 1,323,683 transmissions, of which 1,318,381 came in the fourth wave of infections that has swept the country since late April. Can Tho recorded the highest number of infections at 1,189, followed by HCM City with 1,174 and Tay Ninh at 859. This is the first time that HCM City did not top the daily case count since early November. Hanoi reported 587 new cases.  More than 7,000 coronavirus patients nationwide are in serious condition, with 741 requiring invasive ventilation and 20 on life support. Over 54.4 million people have been fully inoculated, while nearly 73.4 million people have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine.  Stamp collection launched to welcome the Year of Tiger  With the coming Lunar New Year marking the start of the Year of the Tiger, a collection of tiger images, which symbolise power, have been chosen to be featured in a new stamp collection. The stamp set was issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications in collaboration with Vietnam Post, and includes two stamps, one block and attached products. The stamps were designed by artist Nguyen Quang Vinh and measure 37x37 mm, while the block is 150x100 mm. They cost VNĐ4,000, VNĐ15,000 and VNĐ38,000 respectively. The block background shows a Tiger family happily gathering together to welcome spring in a forest of plum, peach, and apricot flowers. The stamp is available on the public postal network until June 30, 2023. Separate hospitals set up in HCM City to treat people infected with Omicron variant When a case of Omicron variant is detected in HCM City, they will be taken to the field hospital No. 12 for isolation and treatment. The HCMC People's Committee has just announced that the citywide epidemic alert remains at Level 2. However, District 11 and Can Gio District increased from level 1 to level 2 while District 4 increased from level 2 to level 3. Districts 1, 6, 7, 8, Tan Binh, Tan Phu and Binh Chanh and Cu Chi districts rank at level 1 while Districts 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, Binh Tan, Binh Thanh, Go Vap, Phu Nhuan, Thu Duc City and Can Gio, Hoc Mon and Nha Be districts at level 2 and only district 4 at level 3. The city has dissolved eight field hospitals, the remaining 13 field hospitals will not be dissolved according to the once set schedule; however, the Department of Health will convert these facilities into a three-story hospital to treat patients. There are 310 fixed medical stations in the city and it has added 382 mobile medical stations. Military medicine staff will manage 168 stations.  Hanoi man wins VN design contest for collection from recycled cloth  Vu Ta Linh from Hanoi has won the annual designed-by-Vietnam contest’s fashion category with her creations from old clothes. Linh combined some of her old clothes with a piece of cloth embroidered by Thai ethnic minority people in the central province of Nghe An to create a collection of six items. In the Souvenir category, HCM City-based Luu Nhu Ngoc won first prize for her creations from broken pieces of ceramic made from Bat Trang Village. Her work titled Returned Tickets bears the image of doctorate students at the Temple of  Literature in Hanoi, which transmits a clear message praising traditional values in the modern era. The contest was launched in mid July and ends in August, gathering 183 designs, 30 of which will enter the final round. AFF Cup: Indonesia coach sees VN as the strongest opponent  Indonesia manager Shin Tae-yong believes his team must face the strongest opponents in Group B of the 2021 AFF Suzuki Cup, including defending champions Vietnam. The Group B draw pitted three heavyweights of Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia against each other. They are also the three teams that faced each other in the second round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. In the World Cup second-round campaign, only Vietnam qualified for the next round, while Malaysia ranked third and Indonesia was at the bottom of the table with just one point after eight matches. Talking about the team's weaknesses, Shin admits that his team has been struggling with the scoring since the World Cup second-round qualifiers. Seminar on President Ho Chi Minh's role to French Communist Party held The Vietnamese and French Communist Parties co-organised an online seminar on December 6 to discuss late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh’s contributions to the French party and Marseille city. The event gathered agencies, researchers, and young Party members of both sides and representatives of Vietnamese and French localities. At the seminar, Vietnamese and French speakers presented studies on the historical significance of the period when Ho Chi Minh stayed in France, his contributions to the French Communist Party and Marseille, and his journey from patriotism to communism, among other topics. Earlier, a plaque commemorating President Ho Chi Minh was unveiled in Marseille on November 26, as part of the activities marking 110 years since the late President boarded ship Amiral Latouche Tréville to France, beginning his journey for national salvation. Public bicycle rental service piloted in HCM City Tri Nam Group began piloting public bicycle rental service on Le Loi Street in District 1, HCM City. This is one of 43 locations handed over by the city to the investor to set up a parking station serving the pilot public bicycle model in the central area. The 43 parking stations are located on the sidewalks of many roads in District 1, near bus stops and shelters, parks, and tourist attractions.  Currently, 400 bicycles are available for rental. The current rental price is VND5,000 for 30 minutes and VND10,000 an hour for each bicycle. Only the first 15 minutes are free to attract users. The public bicycle service in District 1 was approved by the People's Committee of HCM City to be piloted in one year. Vietnam calls for more humanitarian aid for DR Congo Vietnam has called for more humanitarian aid for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) during the United Nations Security Council’s meeting on the country’s unrest and activities of the UN Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) on December 6. Ambassador Pham Hai Anh, Charge d'affaires of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), voiced his concern over prolonged instability in the DR Congo where civilians have become the main target of armed groups. He also expressed his concern over the humanitarian situation and called for further support for the UN's humanitarian fund in the DR Congo. 12th National Vocational Skills Competition held in three provinces The 12th National Vocational Skills Competition opened both in online and offline forms in Hanoi, Vinh Long and Quang Ninh on December 6. The event attracts nearly 180 contestants from 25 delegations who will compete in 11 vocations online using cloud computing, big data and broadband connection technology, and three vocations offline. The event is also meant to choose qualified contestants for the national team to compete in the second Asian and 46th WorldSkills competitions. Its activities will take place from December 1-December 12, including a technical workshop, thematic seminars, opening and closing ceremonies. Contestants will compete in five vocations online in the first stage from December 2-5, and six others online and three offline in the second stage from December 7-9.  VN Conference on Earth and Environmental Sciences organized for the first time The first Vietnam Conference on Earth and Environmental Sciences was held both online and in-person on December 6 by the Meeting Vietnam (Rencontres du Vietnam) and the International Center for Interdisciplinary Science and Education (ICISE). The conference in Quy Nhon city, Binh Dinh province, attracted 50 scientists from both in and outside Vietnam, who looked into the latest trends and progress in earth and environmental sciences. The event is expected to be held annually, serving as a forum for scientists and researchers to share their views and experience in earth and environmental sciences. Over 200 programs launched in response to National Volunteer Day 2021 More than 200 volunteer programmes for the community in remote, far-flung and pandemic-hit localities have been launched in recent days in response to the National Volunteer Day 2021 (December 5). These programs have attracted the participation of nearly 25,000 volunteers who presented gifts to nearly 5,000 needy people and children, mobilised more than 7,000 units of blood to hospitals and various medical equipment to frontline forces, as well as participating in the building of construction works worth nearly VND15 billion . Tet holiday schedule for 2022 submitted to Prime Minister The Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs has proposed a nine-day Lunar New Year 2022 break following the consensus of 16 other ministries, agencies and organizations and submited the proposal to the Prime Minister for approval. Accordingly, the Lunar New Year 2022 break schedule will last nine days, including a day in advance of the Tet holiday, four days after Tet and four weekend days before and after Tet. As for workers at factories, production facilities, the employers will select one day off in advance Tet and four days break after Tet or two days off before Tet and three days off after Tet. However, the MOLISA encouraged enterprises to apply the Tet break schedule as the plan for officials and public servants. Regarding the New Year 2022 break schedule, officials, public servants and workers will have three days off from January 1, 2022 to January 3, 2022. Mekong Delta provinces promote home treat of Covid-19 patients The medical sector in the Mekong Delta has been overloaded due to new numerous Covid-19 surges. In order to overcome the current tough situation and reduce pressure for medical facilities, the health sector has performed solutions of home caring and treating Covid-19 patients. The take-at-home drug is only given to those people who have been made profile and confirmed that they were tested positive for Covid-19 along with moderate symptoms and voluntarily consent to use the drug. As for the Covid-19 cases with mild symptoms or without symptoms, it is only recommended to regularly check the temperature and enhance resistance to the disease. Food containing banned substances, bacteria from EU recalled After receiving a notice from the European Union (EU) Food and Feed Safety Notification System about Salmonella in frozen poultry from Polan, Vietnamese authorities have announced to recall the product. Chicken products of Polish origin found to be contaminated with Salmonella are frozen chicken and chicken legs, necks, and wings. At the same time, the Southeast Asian country’s food watchdog also received a notification from the EU Food and Feed Safety Notification System about the detection of 2-Chloroethanol residues in nutritional supplements from Germany to the Vietnam market. Immediately after the discovery, Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany issued a notice requesting the recall of the infringing product with a risk assessment as severe. Competition for creative, innovative tourism startups launched A campaign on collecting opinions and suggestions for tourism recovery plan and a competition for creative and innovative tourism startups has been launched by the HCMC Department of Tourism. The competition and mobilization for recovery measures in the tourism sector aims to develop travel promotional policies, gradually revive the social economy and welcome back international to HCM City. VNN