A health worker guides foreign experts and labourers to a quarantine facility (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam recorded one more case of COVID-19 on June 6 morning, bringing the total in the country to 329, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

The male patient, 22 years old, is a student back from the UK and a resident of Hanoi. He arrived at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City from the UK on June 4 on Flight VN50.

He was quarantined upon his arrival, and his sample taken the same day. One day later, the test turned out positive for SARS-CoV-2 which causes the disease.

Among the 329 cases, 189 are imported.

June 6 marks the 51st day in a row Vietnam has no infection cases in the community to report.

The committee further said 307 out of the 329 cases have been successfully treated and the rest are under treatment. Among those being treated, 10 have tested negative once and three twice or more./.

Embassy urges Vietnamese in Germany to stay vigilant against COVID-19

The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany has called on the Vietnamese community in the country to continue observing regulations and warnings against the COVID-19 pandemic set by the host government.

The recommendations were issued amidst more COVID-19 cases reported among the Vietnamese community in Germany.

The embassy suggested that Vietnamese people should not organise gatherings of more than two families, and should wear face masks at shops and public places, and keep a distance from others of at least 1.5 metres.

Shops and restaurants need to control the number of customers and ensure a safe distance, the embassy said, adding that suspected cases or those who have contact with patients must self-quarantine and quickly contact local medical facilities for testing and treatment.

Twelve out of 329 Vietnamese in Berlin who had COVID-19 tests on May 30, and June 1-2 have turned out positive for the novel coronavirus, doctors confirmed on June 4.

The doctors have informed the results to the patients and local medical agencies, and asked those who have tested negative for the virus to stay vigilant as Germany is still grappling with the pandemic./.

Thailand sends officials to ensure proper allocation of gov’t assistance

Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security has dispatched officials to local communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that government assistance has been provided to everyone.

Minister of Social Development and Human Security Juti Krairiksh presided over an event under the government’s “We Don’t Leave Anyone Behind” project. Teams of officials were dispatched to 20 communities in Bangkok’s Prawet and Khlong Toei districts. They will evaluate the problems and needs of each community and how government assistance was distributed to help people affected by the spread of COVID-19. The officials will visit different areas to acknowledge people’s problems and help them receive aid from the government.

In other provinces, the Social Development and Human Security provincial offices also sent officials to local communities to help various groups, particularly the impoverished, homeless and the unemployed, who have yet to receive government assistance.

In Bangkok, the ministry is dispatching some 500 officials to different communities once a week. They will gather information about people’s hardships, so that timely assistance can be provided.

Dong Thap to resume labour exports to Japan

The Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap wants to resume its labour export programme with Japan as the country is expected to welcome overseas workers from early July, including those from Vietnam, as the COVID-19 pandemic has been largely curbed.

This will be a good opportunity for the province to re-start the programme after a long break due to COVID-19, according to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Minh Tuyet.

Nearly 7,000 local people worked overseas in the 2016-2020 period under limited employment contracts, primarily in Japan, which accounted for 80.6 percent, she said.

In the first five months of this year, only 724 workers were sent to Japan due to COVID-19, she added.

Some 140 local workers are now awaiting entry into Japan.

Five more COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals, total recoveries at 307

Five more patients had recovered from COVID-19 and were discharged from hospitals in Vietnam on June 5, raising the total to 307.

All are Vietnamese who returned home on a repatriation flight from the Russian capital Moscow on May 14.

Three were admitted to the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Hanoi on May 18 while the other two were treated at the Hai Duong Provincial General Hospital.

The patients tested negative for the coronavirus two or three times and are in a stable condition, with no fever or cough.

They will continue to be quarantined and monitored for the next 14 days.

Vietnam reported no new COVID-19 cases on the morning of June 5, making it 50 successive days no new infections have been found in the community, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Of the 328 cases, 188 were imported and quarantined upon arrival.

There are currently 8,143 people with close contact to a confirmed case or who entered a pandemic-hit area now in quarantine at hospitals, State-designated quarantine camps, or at home.

Hundreds of Vietnamese in Japan return home

More than 340 Vietnamese citizens were repatriated from Japan on a flight that landed at Da Nang International Airport on June 5.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the country’s embassy in Japan, and national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.

Passengers included children, the elderly, the ill, pregnant women, students and apprentices whose dormitories had closed, and workers with expired visas or labour contracts.

Under the Prime Minister’s direction, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport, domestic agencies, and Vietnam’s overseas representative offices have organised a number of flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home.

The flight crew and all passengers were given heath examinations upon landing and then sent to quarantine, in line with regulations.

Depending on the preference of Vietnamese citizens abroad, the development of the pandemic in the country and around the world, and quarantine capacity in Vietnam, more flights are to be conducted in the time to come to bring more Vietnamese citizens home.

ASEAN discusses occurrence of domestic violence during pandemic

The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) on June 5 organised a consultation and special online meeting on protective and preventive measures for women and children at risk of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many delegates emphasised that the pandemic not only affected health in the community as a whole but also had a negative effect on children and women. The incidence of domestic violence increased in many places around the world.

In Vietnam, the number of calls to the Vietnam Women’s Union hotline from women experiencing domestic violence during the period of social distancing surged 50 percent, and that of victims rescued or taken to the union’s Peace House was up 80 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, a survey on the pandemic’s impact on children, conducted by the Vietnam Association for the Protection of Children’s Rights, revealed that 48 percent of respondent children said they felt vulnerable because of verbal abuse, while 8 percent were beaten and 32.5 percent said they were not properly cared for by their parents.

To curb domestic violence, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ International Cooperation Department Ha Thi Minh Duc said the ministry has worked with international organisations in issuing regulations on safety and child protection at quarantine facilities and distributed pertinent information.

The ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications and related agencies to organise courses to train children on the safe use of the internet and educational apps.

ASEAN nations will complete legal frameworks to better protect children in cyberspace and prevent violence against women, Duc said.

Participants also recommended that ASEAN members increase communications to improve public awareness, boost the quality of facilities caring for domestic violence victims, and consider the founding of a fund to support women in the region affected by violence.

Philippines sees record high in unemployment rate

Unemployment in the Philippines soared to 17.7 percent in April, equivalent to around 7.3 million jobless Filipinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on June 5.

PSA head Claire Dennis Mapa said in a virtual media briefing that this is a record high in the country’s unemployment rate, reflecting the effects of COVID-19 economic shutdown to the local labour market.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has placed Metro Manila and the rest of the main island of Luzon under lockdown since mid-March to stem the spread of the virus.

Luzon accounts for 56 percent of the country's population and contributes 73 percent to the GDP. Other provinces in the central and southern Philippines also imposed similar restrictions.

The PSA data showed that the Philippines’ inflation slightly went down to 2.1 percent in May, as compared to 2.2 percent registered in the previous month. The country’s inflation now stands at 2.5 percent.

Also on June 5, the Department of Finance said that the World Bank and the country reached a loan agreement worth 500 million USD to support the poor and those affected by COVID-19.

The fresh loan from the WB adds to a total financial support of 4.85 billion USD secured by the Philippine government as of May 14.

The country now has 20,382 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 984 deaths.