Vietnamese woman dies after eating bizarre sea snail

A 26-year-old woman in the south-central province of Binh Dinh died just four hours after eating a strange sea snail, affirmed Deputy Director of Bong Son General Hospital Dr. Tran Quoc on July 11th.

The woman experienced vomiting, breathing with difficulty, and numb limbs and a stiff mouth after eating sea snail and died on the way to large hospital for emergency.

Dr. Viet said the hospital admitted the woman who is a local primary teacher on July 10th when she was suffering breathing problem and numb limbs. Since the infirmary has no blood transfusion machine; subsequently, it transferred her to other large hospital for emergency on the night.

However, she died on the way.

Heart diseases culprit of thirty percent of deaths in Vietnam

Cardiovascular diseases are also responsible for 30 percent of deaths in Vietnam, said Deputy Head of the Department of Preventive Medicine Truong Dinh Bac at a yesterday meeting in Hanoi held by Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization.

Mr. Bac made the statement at the meeting on implementation of project to monitor high blood pressure and diabetes in commune clinics and increase information of cutting daily intake of salt to prevent high blood pressure.

He added that cardiovascular diseases are common non-communicable diseases in the country.

Worse, high blood pressure and diabetes are major cause of heart disease. According to an estimation, the country has 12 million people with high blood pressure yet just 43 percent of them know their disease while just 14 percent of them are undergoing treatment.

Vietnam has over 3 million diabetes people; however, 29 percent of them receive treatment. Smoking, drinking, less vegetable consumption and excessive salt consumption as well as lack of exercise are risky factors of developing type 2 diabetes.

Noticeably, Excessive salt consumption increases risk of non-communicable diseases. Vietnamese people have a salt intake twice as high as WHO’s daily recommendation.

Accordingly, WHO Representative in Vietnam Dr. Kidong Park said that WHO has been helping Vietnam to reduce burden and deaths caused by non-communicable diseases; especially, WHO aims to raise commune medical clinics in 11 cities and provinces in treating high blood pressure and diabetes. In next time, WHO will support 10 other cities and provinces.

Measles cases soar across Hanoi

There have been 242 measles cases in Hanoi since the beginning of the year, said Director of the city Department of Health Nguyen Nhat Cam on July 23.

This year, measles cases in Hanoi increased four times compared to last year with 60 cases, Mr. Cam added.

Through monitoring, outbreaks have seen in 139 communes in 29 district of Hanoi; mostly in districts Bac Tu Liem, Nam Tu Liem, Ha Dong, Hoang Mai and Dong Da.

Many of infected children are younger than 5 years old and the group of babies under one has the highest rate. Noticeably, unvaccinated children or not fully vaccinated kids will get the disease.

Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus. The cough or sneeze of an infected person is the primary way in which measles is spread. Symptoms usually develop 10–12 days after exposure to an infected person and last 7–10 days.

An infant under 18 months will be high risk if he is not fully vaccinated, said Dr. Cam.

Following the rise of measles infection cases in Hanoi unpredictably, medical experts warned vaccination is still effective measures against the disease; accordingly, parents should take infirmaries for vaccination.

HCMC strives for per capita housing area of 19.8 sq.m by 2020

As per a document of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee submitted to People’s Council, it targets to raise housing area per person to 19.8 meter square in 2020.

A new residential area is set up in Cu Chi District 

According to the document on housing development program of the municipal People’s Committee, not only the housing area will be raised but also newly built house area will be 40 million meter square in the period 2016-2020.

Specifically, in downtown areas including district 1 and 3, the government will build new condo to replace old and dilapidated ones built before 1975. No more high-rise housing projects will be approved until 2020 in the area.

From now to 2020, priority will be given to urban renewal in districts 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Phu Nhuan, Go Vap and Binh Thanh.

The government will consider carefully to construction of new high-rise housing projects; only projects ensuring synchronous technical and social infrastructure will be accepted.

Meanwhile, high-rise apartment blocks will be built along major transport routes in districts 2, 7, 9, 12, Thu Duc and Binh Tan. The government will develop social housing to meet demands of welfare brackets as top priority.

In the five rural districts comprising Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, Nha Be and Can Gio, new housing projects are classified as top priority in towns, countryside districts and areas with traffic system connecting with major roads.

Resorts and ecological tourism are encouraged in these districts.

The government is determined not to develop housing projects in areas without infrastructure planning as well as have policies to form new residential blocks to alleviate the population pressure in central city districts.

USD13.63 million to be invested for Saigon River dyke

Construction on a dyke for Saigon River with a total investment of around VND300 billion (USD13.63 million) has been started recently.

The project invested by Dai Phuc Group, a private firm, is aimed to protect Saigon River from erosion and also serve the development of the Long Park, HCM City’s longest riverside project. 

The 3,350 -metre dyke will belong to Van Phuc urban area invested by Dai Phuc Group in Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc District.

The Saigon River which runs through Thu Duc District has ever faced erosions, forcing local residents to relocate to other places for safety.

Pham Hong Cau, general director of Dai Phuc Group, said that the dyke construction would not affect the waterway transport in the area.

The HCM City People’s Committee has urged district authorities and government agencies to inspect households in erosion-prone areas and speed up relocation of families to safe areas.

The city has 40 erosion-prone areas in several districts, including along the Saigon River.

Hanoi applies online registration for blood donation

Online application for blood donation helps to reduce the pressure on registration points and shorten the waiting time compared to the traditional manual method.

The two-day blood donation campaign last weekend in Hanoi collected more than 3,000 blood units, and the highlight is applying online blood donation.  

This method not only helps reducing the pressure on the registration points, but also shortens the waiting time compared to traditional blood donation registration.

When registering for online blood donation, the registrants just read the name and print the file and don't need handwriting as before.

Online registration also helps the blood donor’s information to be stored in the system, and will not be needed collecting later. When the information is available in the system, blood donors only take one minute for the whole procedure of donation registration.

The registration for online blood donation has been applied in many countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and so on.

In Vietnam, online blood donation registration has been applied in the last two years.

The National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion will soon propose to the Ministry of Health to upgrade the blood donor management system and care for blood donors. There will be an application on cellphone so that blood donors can update blood donation information and check their health.

Japanese experts help Da Lat farmers develop high-quality flower production

A colourful flower farming in Da Lat city (Photo: qdnd.vn) 

A project to popularise the use of Japanese technologies for the development of high-quality flower production areas through the modernisation of nursery and production facilities kicked off in Xuan Tho commune, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province on July 23.

The VND21 billion project was sponsored by Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Under the project, Japan’s Himeji Flowers Auction Co., Ltd will work with Da Lat city authorities to set up a flower research and breeding centre, which incorporates a laboratory and a 2,000 square metre agricultural classroom.

In the seven months leading up to February 2019, Japanese experts will visit Xuan Tho district, Da Lat city to open a training course for local farmers on propagating seedlings and growing daisy and dianthus flowers.

They will also share their shoot-tip experience with local agricultural workers and farmers on how to select varieties for propagation as well as on farming techniques, pest management, and post harvest technologies.

The project intends to enhance the quality of Da Lat flowers and increase their competitiveness on the international market.

Vietnam to ask ride-hailing cars to put on ‘Electronic taxi’ roof signs

Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport is considering requesting Grab or other ride-hailing cars to put on top signs, publicly declaring that they are ‘electronic contract-based’ vehicles, just like conventional taxicabs are required to carry their taxi roof lights.

The proposal, which the transport ministry is seeking feedback from relevant agencies, is included in a draft amendment to a government decree that regulates automobile transportation services.

According to the proposal, app-based cars are allowed to join conventional taxicabs to offer automobile transportation services.

Traditional taxi operators are also allowed to use technology to calculate fares, instead of only by the taximeters.

This means there will be two types of tech-based taxi services: conventional taxi firms with a fare-calculating app, and private cars of ride-hailing apps such as Grab.

The transport ministry therefore suggests that ride-hailing cars put on roof lights to let customers know what types of services they provide.

Conventional taxis that allow booking via apps or software should put on the “Electronic taxi” roof sign, whereas vehicles driving for Grab or other apps should use signs that say they are “Electronic-contract based cars”.

The draft decree, if passed, is expected to contribute to transportation business’ security and transparency.

Apart from Grab, there are several other car-hailing applications in Vietnam, such as Emddi and Vato.

In addition, eight traditional taxi companies also launched their own software such as V.Car, Thanh Cong Car, Vic.Car, HomeCar, Mai Linh Car, LB.Car, Emddi-Phuc Xuyen.

Vietnam’s first private airport receives test flight

Vietnam’s first-ever private run airport saw its first test flight successfully launched on July 11, representing a step closer to the planned full operation in early December of the terminal, located in the northern coastal region.

A Super King Air 350 produced by the US’s Beechcraft landed at the Van Don International Airport, which has been under construction since March 2016, in Quang Ninh Province.

The twin-propeller plane, piloted by Charles John Fogarty, touched down on the airport about half an hour after departing the Cat Bi International Airport in the neighboring city of Hai Phong.

The ferry flight was part of a five-day test to check whether the air traffic control system and runways at the facility meet safety standards.

The rehearsal only hires experienced, licensed pilots and foreign aircraft, a leader from state-owned Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on July 10.

The 325-hectare Van Don terminal will be run by Sun Group – a Vietnamese corporation in real estate, infrastructure and resorts – which is investing around VND7,700 billion (US$331 million) into the project.

With nine runways that are 3.6 kilometers long and 45 meters wide, the airport can receive cargo or passenger aircraft like Boeing 777, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 747 jet airliners.

By 2020, it is expected to handle 2.5 million passengers annually and 1,250 ones during peak times.

Resort with 76,000 trees recorded in VN Guinness book

The building with the most hanging gardens in Flamingo Dai Lai Resort was oficially inaugurated and received the latest four records from the Organization of Vietnam Guinness record.

The building named Garden in the Sky is covered with more than 76,000 trees and 188 unique nursery gardens nurtured with a variety of precious roses.

All 181 rooms on Sky Villa came to debut as a breakthrough in architecture which was unparalleled in Vietnam. Architectural design and interior in Sky Villa are luxury, high-class and unique.

Thanks to this special green design, the building has received three new record: the building has the largest number of hanging gardens in Vietnam, the largest and most unique Hanging Garden in Vietnam, and the complex Flamingo Dai Lai Resort also holds a record for the resort that has the largest number of architectural awards in Vietnam.

Furthermore, the building contains the largest spa and beauty care in Vietnam - SEVA Spa & Beauty destination.

In this green building complex, the Flamingo Play World of Entertainment will be the first of its kind to be launched at Flamingo Dai Lai Resort: Flamingo play world, Sky Club Exciting entertainment.

The resort also owns cinemas, karaoke bars, Flamingo Kids Club, Legacy game center and virtual reality game park which is the most interesting in Asia, and sumptuous drinks and lively music, Palm Pool Four Season Pool, Flamingo Babylon Garden, or Fitness Center. It was quite a complex for an experience long journey in paradise.

Dong Nai builds roads along rivers to beef up tourism

People’s Committee in the southern province of Dong Nai’s Bien Hoa Town gave the green light to nine major infrastructure projects worth VND9 trillion ($392 million)

The town authority runs projects on the occasion of 320 year form and establishment of Dong Nai province.

Of the projects, there are two build-transfer projects with the investment model of land exchange for infrastructure. The first 3.68 kilometer paths from Hoa An bridge to Tram Dai ferry station costs VND1,788 billion.

The second road starting from Ha Huy Giap street to Tran Quoc Toan street is 4.6 kilometer long with total cost estimate of VND3,604 billion and one path connecting Dong Nai River and Tran Bien Temple of Literature and a 529 meter walking road in Thong Nhat Ward. 

These projects help improving traffic infrastructure and river tourism between Bien Hoa Town and Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve (the Reserve) in Vinh Cuu District. Plus, connecting river tours from Ho Chi Minh City to the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and the Central Highlands.

HCMC not lack capital for production: State Bank

The State Bank of Vietnam will reserve enough capital for production in HCMC, said Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Hoang Minh at the seminar “ Where small enterprises can find capital?” on July 18.

Mr. Minh said that six month credit growth rate in HCMC reached 7.5 percent.

Until now, the city’s loan outstanding balance is VND1.9 trillion accounting one third of the country’s total credit outstanding balance, he said.

"The bank has targeted 17 percent of credit growth rate in 2018; hence, the credit growth in HCMC will be 10 percent or VND190 trillion ($8.2 billion) from now to the end of the year".

Accordingly, he affirmed no capital shortage for production even in the end of year when demand of capital increases.

At present, the bank credit is finacing only five fields including agricultural development, production of export commodities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), high-tech and supporting industry as per the direction of the government, the central bank and People’s Committee.

Additionally, banks are dealing with bad debts to have more capital to loan SMEs. Mr. Minh said that as of June, 2018 the rate of bad debts in HCMC was 3 percent without minus of three banks’ bad debts bought at zero by the central.

The rate of bad debt is no at 1.7 percent, lowest within ten years; hence, the city will give more credit to producers from now to the end of year.

Credit, interest rate and exchange rate affect fund sources for SMEs, said Mr. Minh. Mentioning to exchange rate, Mr. Minh said from June, the domestic market under global currency market pressure forcibly raised VND/USD exchange rate.

The FED raised the USD interest rate in 2018 affecting on exchange rate and gold market, said the representative of the central bank. However, the government can maintain stability of foreign currency market. Banks have still satisfied demands of residents and enterprises.

Additionally, thanks to disbursements of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) capital, remittances, export and reserves of $63.5 billion, the central bank can intervene the exchange rate; hence, no pressure will be put on capital source and lending interest rate.

In related news, to create favorable conditions for poor and close-poor ethnic people in HCMC, the city People’s Committee has issued a policy to give loan with interest rate of 4 percent annually for production and services. The maximum loan is VND50 million per household.

The policy lasts from August 1, 2018 to December 31, 2025.

Vehicle owners to pay parking charges for nearly 23 roads in HCMC

Car owners will pay parking charges for nearly 23 roads in Ho Chi Minh City, starting on August 1.

Accordingly, car parking fee collection will be implemented on 13 roads in district 1, 4-5 roads on district 5 and 5-6 roads in district 10. The program is applied for automobiles with 4-16 seats and trucks weighing between 1.5 tons and 2.5 tons.

Vehicle owners will be required to pay a parking fee of VND20,000-25,000 for the first hour. Cars which park for five hours on these roadways could pay as much as VND170,000. 

The fee is collected via an application called My Parking, accepting either international and domestic credit cards. If drivers do not use bank cards, they can pay via the planned service number 1008.

Tropical disease hospital confirms pregnant woman died of H1N1

The A/H1N1 Influenza has claimed the life of another pregnant woman, taking the number of deaths related to the pandemic to six since the beginning of the year.

The Tropical Disease Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City July 18 announced family of a pregnant woman suffering serious A/H1N1 asked to take her home for burial preparation as her illness did not abate.

35-year-old pregnant woman hailing from the Mekong delta province of Dong Thap is 32 weeks pregnant. She was transferred from a local infirmary when she was suffering breathing problem and high fever.

Her relatives said that earlier, in the middle of June, the pregnant woman had high fever and cough; her illness was still worse though she was undergoing treatment in several commune clinics.

She was transferred to the large hospital in HCMC on June 17 in worse condition. X-ray result showed damage in the lungs and test result showed she was positive for A/H1N1 virus.

The pregnant woman was putting on ventilator and under intensive care yet her ailment has not alleviated. Subsequently, the hospital called for help of Tu Du Maternity in perform a C-section to save baby who weighed 1.6 kilogram.

The mother was undergoing intensive care. However, after three week stay in the hospital, her sickness got worse. Her family decided to take her home where she died later.

Vietnam recalls drug made in China on cancer fears

In its dispatch to departments of health and pharmaceutical businesses, the Vietnam Administration of Drug asked to recall a drug made in China because it was found containing an ingredient which may cause cancer.

The health watchdog found the impurity in the active substance valsartan manufactured by Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceuticals in China. The appearance of the impurity - N-nitrosodimethylamine - came after a change in the process for making valsartan.

Accordingly, the administration ordered departments of health and pharmaceutical businesses to suspend the circulation of all drugs made from Valsartan of Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical.

Importers have to coordinate with distributors to recall all such medicines in retailers and wholesalers.

Moreover, manufacturers must stop using the ingredient to make finished drugs. Scientists must re-assess the providers, check and research how to use Valsartan safely. They are requested to complete paper formalities as per the regulations.

Retailers and importers must report the quantity of drug sold to markets, recall medicines and receipt of drug removed from retailers and wholesalers to the Administration within one month.

Health departments in cities and provinces must check the recall and publicize the information in its website as well as issue fines on retailers and wholesalers which don’t follow the request.

Schools to add books of Uncle Ho to curriculum

The Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City has asked city schools to add a new collection of books on late President Ho Chi Minh

The collection entitled "Uncle Ho and lessons on morality and lifestyle for students" includes 11 books for pupils from the second grade to the twelveth grade

The city's schools were asked to provide the books of Uncle Ho and stories of his simple lifestyle and ethics in eye-catching positions in libraries where teachers and students can take for reference.

Primary schools should buy the documents for teachers and junior and senior schools should provide the documents to history teachers and citizenship teachers.

Moreover, lessons of Uncle Ho will be included in lessons for citizenship education and extra-activities in schools.

PSA international photo exhibition opens in HCMC

The PSA international photo exhibition 2018 which is co-organized by the Association of Vietnamese Photography Artists and the Photographic Society of America (PSA) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on July 21.

The event displays 148 "photographic moments"which are pictures of portraits, animals, nature and daily life from 148 professional photographers and amateurs of 43 countries throughout the world.

The exhibition will run until August 5. The show was aslo organized in Hanoi on June 2-17.

The Photographic Society of America (PSA) is a worldwide organization providing a wide range of services that promote photography and benefits to its members. The mission of the society is to promote the art and science of photography as a means of communication, image appreciation, and cultural exchange; provide education, information, inspiration, and opportunity for all persons interested in photography; and foster personal growth and expression, creativity, excellence, and ethical conduct in all aspects of photographic endeavor. 

Established in 1934, it is for casual shutterbugs, serious amateurs, and professional photographers. PSA has members in over 80 countries.

Satisfaction rating system in HCMC more readily accessible

The satisfaction rating system in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is being implemented at 42 units, obtaining necessary results. From now on, this system will become more easily accessible to all citizens and businesses, not just those who need to come for administrative work at these units.

Satisfaction rating system in HCMC more readily accessible

According to report from the recent press conference organized by the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, the city has already launched the satisfaction rating system at the address https://danhgiahailong.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/. This is linked to the Hochiminh City Web (http://www.hochiminhcity.gov.vn) and other websites of state offices in each district and departmental office. Citizens and businesses can also rate their satisfaction via the specialized devices called kios or mobile devices located in the above offices.

Until June 2018, there have been 57,188 rating times on the attitudes of officers and quality of services through those specialized devices, along with 4,718 rating times on service quality via the website https://danhgiahailong.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/

As said by Ms. Vo Thi Trung Trinh, Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Information and Communications, this achievement is the result of considerable efforts to improve public administrative work in the city.

At the moment, the department is cooperating with the Vietnamese Fatherland Front Committee in HCMC to launch the project on ‘Satisfaction rating system of citizens and organizations on guidelines and policies implemented in the city in the period from 2018 – 2020’.

The HCMC Department of Information and Communications also suggested to display rating results to anyone interested. However, since the results are also monitored by the HCMC Institute for Development Studies, it is necessary to upgrade the software before citizens can view the results.

There was also a recommendation to improve the software in order to be more user-friendly and to be used on mobile devices.

All these suggestions show the determination of the city's departments in increasing the satisfaction of the public toward administrative formalities.