Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Le Thi Thu Hang on March 17 provided more details about Vietnam’s plan to reopen its door to foreign visitors, including regulations on arrivals and medical requirements.

Addressing the ministry’s regular press meeting held virtually, she said the Ministry of Health on March 15 issued Document No. 1265/BYT-DP on COVID-19 prevention and control for foreign arrivals to Vietnam.

Accordingly, those entering the country by air need to show a negative result of RT-PCR tests for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 within 72 hours or of rapid antigen tests within 24 hours prior to their departure.

The arrivals going by road, railway, and sea can do the same if their travel time is short, but need to undergo testing at border gates before entering Vietnam if the travel time is long. In the latter case, if the test result is negative, they can leave their accommodations and have to take the regulated anti-pandemic measures, Hang noted.

People entering Vietnam have to make health declarations prior to their entry, monitor their health, and use health declaration app PC COVID as in line with regulations while staying in Vietnam, she added.

Hang explained that foreign tourists to Vietnam can contact and ask international travel companies in the country to represent them to handle procedures at the Immigration Department and then receive their visas at Vietnam’s overseas representative agencies or the agencies authorised to grant visas such as the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei.

The MoFA has ordered the overseas representative bodies and the authorised agencies to grant visas to coordinate with domestic relevant agencies to deal with visa demand from people entering Vietnam for tourism, as well as business and investment purposes.

Malaysian Prime Minister to pay official visit to Vietnam 

Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob will pay an official visit to Vietnam from March 20-21 at the invitation of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced.

Vietnam and Malaysia have a long-standing friendship with excellent cooperation in many areas since they established diplomatic relations on March 30, 1973.

Since then, the bilateral ties have flourished, especially after being advanced to a strategic partnership in 2015. Despite challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade reached 12.5 billion USD in 2021, up 25.5 percent from the previous year.

Vietnam surpasses 7 million COVID cases

After the country entered its fourth wave of the virus in late April 2021, it took just over six months to reach 1 million transmissions on November 11. By January 15, 2022, it had doubled.

By February 24, it hit 3 million, and by March 13 it had hit 6 million.

Just four days later it has hit 7,174,423 cases.

Currently, 4,435 patients have severe infections, including six on life support.

Out of the new daily transmissions, 124,725 were found in the community.

After review, Vĩnh Phúc registered 24,975 additional cases, while Hải Dương registered an extra 155,878.

The capital city of Hà Nội again registered the highest daily number of infections with 25,311.

A total of 76 COVID-related deaths were also recorded, taking the total number of fatalities to 41,683, accounting for 0.6 per cent of total infections.

There were a further 135,693 recoveries, bringing the total number of people given the all-clear to 3,685,988.

Vietnam to lower COVID-19 infection risk levels

The Government has asked the Ministry of Health (MoH) to consider lowering the infection risk level of COVID-19 from group A, made up of very dangerous infectious diseases, to group B which consists of dangerous infectious diseases.

In a resolution relating to COVID-19 prevention and control signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on March 17, the Government has requested that the MoH closely monitor the pandemic situation and make recommendations in a bid to adjust COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

The MoH has been asked to adopt a flexible surveillance and detection strategy for SARS-CoV-2 infections suitable to pandemic developments in each period, whilst also striving to reduce the death rate to a level lower than the Asian average.

The Government has duly requested the flexible implementation of ‘pandemic prevention - detection - isolation - zoning – control’ measures in the narrowest possible scale and scope in line with pandemic development, along with the flexible application of the anti-pandemic formula of ‘5K + vaccination, medicine + treatment + technology + public awareness + other measures’.

Spokesperson reaffirms top priority given to safety of Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang on March 17 reaffirmed that ensuring security and safety for the lives and assets of Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine is the top priority of the Party, State, and Government of Vietnam.

At the ministry’s regular press meeting held virtually, she noted when the Ukraine situation recorded tense developments, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch No. 201/CD-TTg, dated February 26, 2022, on the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities, and some issues needing attention in the face of the Ukraine situation.

Recently, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son has continually held phone talks with his counterparts of Russia, Ukraine, and Romania, sent a letter to the Foreign Minister of Poland, and received the relevant countries’ ambassadors to Vietnam, asking for their assistance in guaranteeing maximum security and safety for Vietnamese citizens and their families and to create conditions for repatriation flights, according to Hang.

She informed that so far, five flights have been conducted, safely repatriating about 1,400 Vietnamese people and their family members who wish to return to Vietnam.

Vietnam always protects and promotes fundamental rights of citizens: spokesperson

Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang on March 17 affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy of protecting and promoting fundamental rights of citizens, including rights of women.

Hang made the affirmation when asked to comment on the US Department of State’s naming Pham Thi Doan Trang as a recipient of the 2022 International Women of Courage Award, at the ministry’s regular press conference held virtually.

She stressed that Vietnam’s efforts and achievements in ensuring and promoting human rights have been acknowledged and commended by the international community.

"Vietnam holds that the US Department of State’s presentation of the award to Pham Thi Doan Trang, a person who has violated Vietnamese law and has been brought to trial and is serving her prison sentence, is a subjective act that is neither appropriate for nor conducive to the development of the Vietnam-US relations," the spokesperson said.

No Vietnamese reported dead or injured in Japan earthquake

There are no Vietnamese people reported dead or injured in the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit northeastern Japan on late March 16, according to a Vietnamese expat.

The earthquake struck off the coast of Japan’s Fukushima prefecture at a depth of some 57km just before midnight (local time). Though it was quite powerful, it did not cause major damage to the region as local authorities and people have learnt a lesson from the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster, said Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Association in Fukushima Ngo Le Thuy Trang.

Fukushima authorities have contacted the association to learn about how the quake affected Vietnamese people here and provide instructions for seeking shelters.

The association has been collecting information about the Vietnamese expats, particularly students and trainees, and in case of need, will donate food to affected people.

Programme specifies anti-COVID-19 targets, tasks for 2022 - 2023

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on March 17 signed a resolution issuing the COVID-19 prevention and control programme for 2022 - 2023.

The programme aims that by the end of the first quarter of 2022, Vietnam will have finished administering the second vaccine doses to people aged 12 and under 18, and the third doses to those aged 18 and above, except for the ones with a contraindication to vaccination. It looks to ensure sufficient vaccine supply and complete the inoculation of children aged 5 and under 12 by September 2022.

Besides, administrations at all levels have to devise anti-COVID-19 plans, and all people comply with suitable pandemic prevention and control measures. The country will also strive to reduce the mortality rate per 1 million people to less than the average in Asia.

Apart from implementing COVID-19 vaccination as fast as possible, it will quickly consider the inoculation of the fourth vaccine doses for adults, the third doses for people aged 5 and under 18, and vaccination for children aged 3 - 5.

Da Nang: Cable car system to Golden Bridge opens to visitors

Visitors to central Da Nang city now can easily reach Vang (Golden) Bridge to enjoy spectacular surrounding landscapes thanks to a newly inaugurated cable car system to this famous place.

The cable car route, named Hoi An - Marseille, and another named Bordeaux - Louvre to the mountain peak were the new facilities unveiled at Sun World Ba Na Hills on March 18, when this site reopened to visitors after a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some other facilities will make debut this summer, including a mountain-climbing railway that is nearly 430 metres long, cinemas, and prize-winning game stores.

The tourism site also promises a giant hydrangea garden with tens of thousands of blooming flowers welcoming tourists in summer.

Nguyen Lam An, Director of Sun World Ba Na Hills, said the site will resume festive activities from late April, including a street carnival, an European-style fair, and a culinary festival.

Da Nang hosts large-scale sporting events to attract tourists

The culture and sports sector of the central city of Da Nang is to host an array of large-scale sporting activities this year to attract tourists now that Vietnam officially has resumed international tourism.

The Da Nang International Marathon 2022 is to run from March 18-20 with nearly 5,000 participants, including foreigners who are living and working in Vietnam.

It is the first professional marathon in Vietnam whose running tracks are measured and certified by the World Athletics- Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (IAAF-AIMS).

The Olympic Run Day for Public Health is slated for March 27, calling on people to select and practise suitable sports so as to keep fit.

A hot-air balloon show will be held in Bach Dang street on March 25-27, with 17 hot-air balloons measuring abut 18m in diameters and up to 22m in height to participate in.

The Ironman 70.3 Vietnam, and the Sprint and Ironkids competitions will take place on May 7-9, with an estimated 2,000 international athletes joining in.

The Ironman 70.3 attracted thousands of athletes from 50 countries and territories over the years. Its 2019 edition was awarded the Best Race in Asia-Long Course category by AsiaTri.com.

In June, a national boat race will be organised in the city’s iconic Han river. A colour run is scheduled for June 10-12 with about 5,000 participants.

Fourteen national sporting tournaments and the ninth sport festival of the city are to be held this year.

Vietnam boosts satellite-based vessel monitoring to eradicate IUU fishing

Installing vessel monitoring systems (VMS) is one of the important measures the European Commission (EC) recommended for Vietnam to remove the EC’s “yellow card” warning against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

As of August 2021, 26,915 fishing boats, equivalent to 87.45 percent of the total, had been equipped with VMSs whose signals were recorded by the directorate’s surveillance system. Among them, 3,000 vessels in 28 coastal provinces and centrally-run cities had satellite-based VMSs under Movimar, a cooperation project between Vietnam, represented by the management board for agricultural projects under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and France, represented by the Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) company.

A central vessel monitoring network and two monitoring stations based in northern Hai Phong city and southern Ba Ria - Vung Tau province were set up, enabling authorities to practice real-time surveillance of vessels working at sea so as to detect boats breaking anti-IUU fishing rules and assist fishermen in emergencies.

Since the VMS installation was launched, law violations during fishing trips have declined. Notably, some provinces haven’t recorded any vessels that infringed foreign waters and were detained since the start of 2022.

Owner of container ship blazed off Vietnamese coast thanks for help

CMA CGM Vietnam JSC, owner of APL CAIRO container vessel, has thanked relevant agencies and firefighters of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau for promptly putting out a fire on the Singapore-flagged ship off the province’s coast on March 8.

In a letter addressed to the provincial People’s Committee and Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport, the company underlined the high efficiency in emergency response at seaports, vehicle mobilisation and firefighting capacity of Ba Ria-Vung Tau’s relevant agencies and firefighters.

The timely extinguishment of the blaze helped reduce losses, ensure safety for the vessel and its crew, and avoid causing environmental damage, the company wrote in the letter.

On March 8 morning, a fire broke out on APL CAIRO container ship, measuring 207m in length and 29.8m in width, which was en route from Ho Chi Minh City’s Cat Lai port to Hong Kong.

Coeliccia natgeo damselfly spotted in Nghe An

Coeliccia natgeo damselfly has been spotted at the Pu Mat National Park in the north-central province of Nghe An, Director of the park Tran Xuan Cuong said on March 16.

The flying insect is classified as the eighth species of the hayashii-group, which is endemic to Vietnam.

It inhabits in dry areas away from brooks, and is difficult to find, which is different from other species in the Coeliccia genus.

Vietnam targets over 90 percent of population using electronic health record in 2022

Vietnam aims to have over 90 percent of its population using electronic health record in medical examination - treatment and health monitoring activities by the end of 2022.

According to an action plan recently issued by the National Committee on Digital Transformation, the committee will focus on directing and coordinating ministries, sectors and localities to promote digital transformation; develop e-government, digital economy and society; and prioritise resources to achieve important indicators of the country’s programmes and strategies on digital transformation.

The Ministry of Information and Communications and localities will cooperate to build an electronic identification and authentication system on the basis of the national database on population and citizen identification database. About 15-20 percent of the population are expected to use e-identification applications by late this year.

The Ministry of Education and Training will coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to develop and promote the use of an online teaching platform, a digital university platform, and a national digital education resource repository; universalise and maintain a certain ration of online teaching even after the COVID-19 pandemic; and develop a pilot higher education model in training digital human resources.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Planning and Investment will work with the Ministry of Information and Communications and localities to speed up the digital transformation in small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Digital and cashless payments will also be promoted through coordination between the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Information and Communications and others ministries and localities, towards the non-cash payments of tuition and hospital fees reaching at least 50 percent by the end of 2022. 

Vietnam attends 19th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces’ Meeting

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army and Deputy Minister of National Defence, attended the 19th ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces’ Meeting (ACDFM-19), as part of his visit to Cambodia from March 17 – 19.

The in-person event kicked off on March 17 morning under the presidency of Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) Gen. Vong Pisen.

The host stressed this is the first time leaders of ASEAN forces could meet face to face after the COVID-19 situation in Cambodia has eased, the Cambodian News Agency AKP reported.

This meeting is held under theme “Solidarity for Peace and Harmony”, which emphasises the importance of the military role and efforts under the principle of ASEAN Centrality to address the traditional and non-traditional security issues, especially the pandemic, and to be ready for future challenges by achieving regional peace, stability, harmony and common interests through cooperation and mechanisms that are acceptable from all parties.

World Cup qualifiers: Japan provides more tickets for Vietnamese fans for upcoming game

The Japan Football Association (JFA) has decided to increase tickets for Vietnamese fans for the Vietnam-Japan return leg as part of the World Cup 2022 Asian qualifiers.

The number has been raised to 1,300 from just 300 earlier.

The decision was made shortly after Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam asked the Japanese football body to consider the move for Vietnamese fans, during his meeting with JFA Chairman Tashima Kohzo on March 15.

The game is scheduled for March 29 at the 63,700-seat Saitama Stadium.

In preparation for the game, the Vietnamese football team will arrive in Narita International Airport on March 26 and stay at a hotel in Ikebukuro district of Tokyo. Under the request of the JFA, their activities during their stay in Japan will take place in a closed routine.

Vietnam lost 0-1 to Japan in the first leg which took place at Hanoi’s My Dinh Stadium on November 11.

Design contest aims to help ao dai go global

A design contest aiming to help Vietnam’s traditional ao dai (long dress) go global was launched on March 17.

It is jointly organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism and the municipal Women’s Union.

Entries will be accepted until April, encouraged to use traditional materials such as silk and brocade and to apply manual techniques so as to support traditional craft villages.

Information on the contest can be found at a Facebook page and website of the HCM City Ao dai Festival at https://www.facebook.com/lehoiaodai and https://lehoiaodaitphcm.com.vn, respectively.

Vietnam to produce Pfizer’s COVID-19 treatment pills

Vietnamese pharmaceutical company Stellapharm has been licensed by international public health group Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) to produce Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment pills containing the active ingredient nirmatrelvir.

Stellapharm represents the only Vietnamese enterprise among 35 companies throughout 12 countries that have been franchised by MPP to produce such pills.

The 12 licensed franchisees include firms in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Jordan, India, Israel, Mexico, Pakistan, Serbia, the Republic of Korea, and Vietnam.

Pfizer's drug, which is to be sold under the commercial name Paxlovid, was granted approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December, 2021.

HCM City seeks supply of 20,000 doses of molnupiravir for COVID

The HCM City Department of Health plans to invite bids to supply 20,000 doses of antiretroviral drug molnupiravir for treating COVID-19 amid a resurgence in the pandemic.

It said this is meant to ensure prompt access to the drug by patients to reduce the number of severe cases and deaths, thus easing the pressure on the healthcare system.

The drugs would be distributed to health stations for providing free of charge to patients being treated at home under the department’s guidance.

Demand for the drug has surged due to the burgeoning caseload while supply from the Ministry of Health is running out.

The drug is used to treat adult patients with mild to moderate symptoms and at least one underlying risk factor.

Vietnamese-American tennis player Thái Sơn Kwiatkowski to compete at SEA Games 31

Vietnamese-American tennis player Thái Sơn Kwiatkowski will join the Vietnamese national team to compete at the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which will be held in May in Hà Nội.

Kwiatkowski, 27, has a Vietnamese mother and a Polish father, but he was born and raised in the US. He is a product of American school sports, where student-athletes combine sports and learning culture.

Kwiatkowski won the men's singles title at the All-American College tennis tournament in 2017. He graduated from the University of Virginia and played tennis professionally in 2018. Up to now, he has participated in four prestigious Grand Slams including the Australian Open, French Open (Roland Garros), US Open and Wimbledon.

The tennis team further increased their chances of getting medals in the women's events, thanks to the services of Vietnamese-American tennis player Chanelle Vân Nguyễn, currently ranked No 414 in the world.

Nguyễn, who was born in 1994 in Miami, has a Vietnamese father and an American mother. She once played for Hưng Thịnh Club in HCM City, then moved to Hải Đăng Tây Ninh. She will bolster Việt Nam's chances of gold against teams from Thailand and Indonesia.

Filmmaking course for young filmmakers returns to city

Following the success of the filmmaking course called ON THE REEL Film Lab that was organized in last October; the event will be continuously held online via Zoom platform from March 21– 23.

The program includes three workshops on promoting and submitting movies to film festivals, short films and Short Form Station composition camp in Berlin International Film Festival.

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.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/SGGP/Dtinews

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES MARCH 17

Hanoi becomes ready for SEA Games 31