Vietnam logged an additional 1,815 COVID-19 cases on August 13, according to the Ministry of Health.

The new infections raised the country’s total caseload since the pandemic broke out to 11,364,355.

A total 5,186 COVID-19 patients were given the all clear on the day, bringing the number of recoveries so far to 10,014,637. There are 137 patients in serious conditions needing breathing support.

One death from COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities stood at 43,097.

On August 12, 582,931 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered, raising the total number of shots given out to 250,992,746.

The ministry said its advisory council is yet to give recommendations regarding the vaccination against COVID-19 for children under 5.

Health Ministry yet to approve vaccination for children under five

Vietnam has not yet drafted plans to give Covid-19 vaccines to children under five years old, the local health ministry said at a meeting on August 12.

The meeting was held after the government recently instructed the ministry to make plans to vaccinate infants aged six months and above against Covid-19 starting next year. The order came as the government continued to push for greater vaccination coverage amid rising new infections and slow progress of the booster vaccination doses in various localities.

According to the ministry, the most important work now is to speed up the vaccination progress for children from five years old and adults as the number of infections have begun to rise again.

The ministry added that the country now still had over 12.12 million unused doses. They have worked with the Covax Facility to ask for 1.20 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that have expired in the country. Covax have agreed to send replacement batches to Vietnam through UNICEF.

Solutions needed for full electronic toll collection

One week after the full electronic toll collection (ETC) officially went into operation, motorists are reporting technical difficulties in using the system. 

According to the deputy director Việt Nam Expressway Corporation (VEC) Nguyễn Văn Nhi, a majority of these technical glitches are due to unactivated and invalid accounts, or the delay in transaction between the drivers’ bank accounts and their ETC payment accounts.

In several cases, the toll collection readers fail to read old, deteriorating ETC tags. 

Others report slow recognition, physical barriers being out of sync with the system, and that some tags were not correctly installed - which caused inconvenience for motorists and traffic congestion at toll points. 

Lê Văn Hùng, manager of the first toll point on Hà Nội - Hải Phòng Expressway said that at the start of the ETC-only pilot programme in June, there were only about 76 per cent of vehicles using the service. This figure has now increased to approximately 98 per cent. 

Nguyễn Văn Quyền, chairman of Việt Nam Automobile Transport Association, said that current regulations only state the penalties for vehicle owners who fail to install ETC tags and top up their transport accounts before entering the expressway. 

Traffic accident kills four in central province

A traffic accident late Wednesday has left four people dead and two others injured in the central province of Thừa Thiên Huế .

According to a report by the Police of A Lưới District, Thừa Thiên-Huế Province, a truck with licence plate 75C-032.32 was unable to control its speed while going down a steep pass. At a bend on the road, it collided with two motorbikes and flipped onto a slope on the left of the road.

The truck had a registration deadline until September 5, but did not comply with national laws regarding passenger load.

In addition to the driver, vehicles similar to the truck are permitted to transport two more passengers.

However, at the time of the accident the truck was loaded with four people, the driver, Huỳnh Văn Cường, 27, Lê Thị Minh Tâm (Cường's wife) in the cabin, and Hồ Văn Phương, 36, and Prômisa, 24, both residents of Cân Te Village, Hồng Thượng, A Lưới District.

The truck was travelling from A Lưới District to Huế City when it collided with a motorcycle driven by Pham Thị Hoài Thu, 43, residing in Phú Vinh Commune, A Lưới District, driving Ngô Thị Nhàn, 53, and another motorbike driven by Hồ Văn Vở, 33, also from the same district.

Both motorbikes were moving in the opposite direction to the truck.

The accident killed Hồ Văn Vở, Hồ Văn Phương, Prômisa and Ngô Thị Nhàn.

Huỳnh Văn Cường and Lê Thị Minh Tâm were injured and are currently being treated at an emergency unit in Huế Central Hospital. 

DNSE VIETNAM OPEN 2022 to run from September 13-16

The DNSE Vietnam Open 2022, the only tournament in the Vietnam Professional Golf Tournament System (VGA Tour Open) for international golfers outside of Việt Nam, will take place from September 13-16, 2022 in Hà Nội, according to organisers. 

The tournament marks the first time that the DNSE Securities Joint Stock Company has accompanied a top sports tournament in the country.

Continuing efforts to develop Vietnamese golf, DNSE Vietnam Open 2022 is the first and only tournament of the year of the VGA Tour Open for international golfers to attend, regardless of the quantity and nationality, to increase competitiveness and professional quality in Vietnamese professional golf.

The DNSE Vietnam Open will take place in a 72-hole (4-round) stroke play format at the Sky course in Skylake Resort & Golf Club, one of the most challenging courses in the north of the country.

The tournament will be broadcast live from September 13-16, 2022, on official channels of the VGA Tour, Golfnews, vHandicap, major sports channels and TV apps, so golf lovers everywhere can follow all the latest news and developments.

Registration online is from now until September 5 at facebook.com/VGATourOfficial or the VGA Tour website vgatour.com.

Multiple vehicles found to have more one ETC tag

The Directorate for Roads has said multiple vehicles have been found to have more than one electronic toll collection (ETC) tag.

A working group established by the Directorate for Roads found that ePasses of Viettel Group’s Vietnam Digital Transport JSC (VDTC) and e-Tags of the VETC Electronic Toll Collection Company have been both stuck on many vehicles while just one of the two tags is needed for each vehicle.

Therefore, certain toll payment accounts issued by one of the two companies already have user data stored by the other, according to a review of nine vehicles on the database of VDTC and VETC.

Military-run telecom giant Viettel Group earlier reported that the ePasses of nearly 40,000 vehicles had been superseded by e-Tags, thus leading to these vehicles having problems at tollgates.

According to the directorate, the tags that have been in use for a long time might deteriorate, so they need to be replaced.

The directorate urged the two ETC service providers to report by August 15, allowing relevant agencies to come up with solutions promptly.

The Ministry of Transport also assigned Vietnam Register to work closely with the ETC service providers and relevant agencies to make sure that vehicles that visit the registration centers must have toll payment tags.

Data by the General Department of Roads showed that the number of vehicles having ETC tags is 3.52 million, accounting for 75.9% of the total.

Given the current pace, the directorate expects that the target of issuing ETC tags to 80% of the automobiles in the country by the end of August can be reached.

Plan approved to promote people’s law accessibility

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has signed a decision approving a plan to improve people’s law accessibility.

The overall goal of this plan, to be carried out nationwide from 2023 to 2030, is to roll out and implement measures and tasks in a timely, effective, and comprehensive manner to improve people’s accessibility to law, as well as agencies and organisations’ sense of responsibility towards assisting people in this regard, thereby helping promote the public’s understanding of, adherence to, and use of law to protect their rights and legitimate interests.

Among its targets, the plan looks to review and propose all-round, effective and feasible policies and regulations on law access that are appropriate to each period, while raising the awareness, sense of responsibility, and habit of learning about and complying with law among the community, especially children, poor and near-poor families.

Besides, political, social and occupational organisations and those engaging in judicial supplement will be assisted to improve their capacity and social responsibility in providing legal information and aid to people.

Tasks and measures were also identified in the plan to achieve the abovementioned targets.

Cuban National Assembly receives gifts from Vietnamese counterpart

The National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba has received 750 tablets, two servers and two printers as gifts from the Vietnamese counterpart.

Speaking at the handover ceremony held on August 11 in Havana, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Thanh Tung said the equipment is intended to help the Cuban legislature improve its operational efficiency.

He also expressed solidarity with the Cuban people over the fire at a fuel depot in Matanzas city and offered condolences to the families of the victims of the accident.

Appreciating Vietnam's warm affection and precious help, President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernández asked the Ambassador to convey a thank-you letter to the chairman of Vietnamese NA, Vuong Dinh Hue.

Mekong Delta floods to be below normal this year: authorities

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta is expected to have less flooding than normal this year, according to the Directorate of Water Resources.

The delta, the country largest producer of rice, fruits and seafood, is normally flooded in the Mekong’s upstream areas, and this fertilises the soil as sediments are deposited and brings river creatures into farms.

The floods are expected to peak at 3.5-3.7m at the Tân Châu Station in An Giang Province in October, the directorate said.

They are estimated to reach three metres by the end of this month, but will not affect the cultivation the autumn-winter crop.

However, the high tides are expected to be high this year and flood low-lying areas in the delta’s central and coastal areas, especially when the tides occur at the same time as heavy rains.

The flooding is now low and does not affect agriculture production or daily life.

The water levels in the Tiền and Hậu rivers, two major tributaries of the Mekong, reached 1.84m at Tân Châu Station and 1.87m at Châu Đốc Station on last Tuesday, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecasting.

National orchestra to perform Tchaikovsky with guest artists

The Việt Nam National Symphony and Orchestra will perform with guest artists at a concert tonight at Hà Nội Opera House.

Under the baton of Min Chung, the orchestra and guest pianist Nguyễn Thế Vinh will perform Piano Concerto No 1 by Tchaikovsky in the first part of the concert.

South Korean conductor Chung is currently a guest conductor at Haydn di Trento e Bolzano orchestra and music director of the Gangneung Philharmonic Orchestra.

The concert will begin at 8pm.

Ticket available at Hà Nội Opera House, 1 Tràng Tiền Street; STAR LOTUS 111 Mai Hắc Đế Street; and JTB-TNT Hanoi - 6M Floor, Pan Pacific Hanoi, 1 Thanh Niên Street. For ticket delivery, please calls 0965 765 946 or 0913 489 858. 

Bac Lieu to host festival to promote tài tử music

The culture authority of the Mekong Delta province of Bạc Liêu has said it will host a music festival in November to promote folk music and tourism in the province.

The festival is named after the vọng cổ (nostalgic tune) song Dạ Cổ Hoài Lang (Night Drumbeats for the Absent Husband), which was composed by Cao Văn Lầu, guru of cải lương (reformed opera) in 1919.

Dạ Cổ Hoài Lang tells of the love, anguish and pride of a young woman who awaits her husband’s return from the battlefield as she listens to the sounds of war drums.

It was known as the first vọng cổ song, which quickly became popular across southern Việt Nam.

Vọng cổ songs are sung by southern farmers after working in the fields. The songs, which feature the feelings, dreams and hopes of people, are often used in cải lương (reformed opera).

Dạ Cổ Hoài Lang has been performed by generations of singers. Its title is also used in a cải lương play, drama and movie, in which the song is used to highlight nostalgia.

VN takes strong measures to achieve net-zero carbon emissions

Reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is an inevitable development goal, which should be achieved through strong energy transition and low-emission development, Head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Department of Climate Change Tăng Thế Cường has said.

Cường emphasised that this is also a new global trade and investment rule established since COP26. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and converting energy from fossil fuels to clean and renewable ones will be an opportunity to promote economic restructuring towards sustainability, circular economy, and sustainable development.

As one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, Việt Nam prioritises all resources for a green future. Việt Nam's contributions to COP26 have been appreciated by the international community and have opened up many opportunities for cooperation on low-emission growth.

The National Strategy on Climate Change by 2050 has been pushed to update new international trends and address urgent issues and priorities related to implementing the Paris Agreement and Việt Nam's commitments to net zero.

The strategy has set out tasks which require coordination among ministries, Government agencies and people's committees of provinces and cities. All units must develop plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and after 2030.

The strategy requires emission facilities with greenhouse gas emissions of 3,000 tonnes of CO2eq or more each year to review and reduce emissions from 2022. The requirement will be applied to facilities with green gas emissions of 2,000 tonnes of CO2eq from 2030 and those with 500 tonnes of CO2eq from 2040.

With that roadmap, by 2050, Việt Nam will be able to reach zero net emissions.

Progress in research, clinical trials of domestic COVID-19 vaccines updated

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has reported on the domestic production of vaccines against the COVID-19, and the receipt and immunisation of vaccines to the Prime Minister.

There are five vaccines being in the research and clinical trial process, namely Nanocovax, COVIVAC, ARCT-154, COVID-19 HIPRA and S – 268019, the ministry said, adding the research is being conducted on schedule and in line with contents of the research plans approved by the ministry. The work is expected to complete in December next year.

As of August 11, Vietnam received 253,071,094 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 234,636,494 for the people aged 12 and above, and 18,434,600 for children aged between 5-11. 

So far, as many as 249,778,892 doses have been administered to people nationwide, with 100% of people aged over 18 years old; and from 12 to under 18 getting the first and second injections.

The vaccination rate of 3rd and 4th shots in the over-18-year-old group reached 73.9% and 57.4%, respectively.

Pharma companies told to proactively develop monkeypox medication

Facing complex developments of the monkeypox outbreak in the world, the Health Ministry’s Drug Administration has asked pharmaceutical and material producers to increase the import of and proactively develop monkeypox medication.

In a document sent on August 10, the agency requested the companies keep up with the development of monkeypox medication and vaccine in the world, access drug material supply sources, and import materials into Vietnam to serve drug development and production.

It also asked drug and material importers to proactively liaise with foreign manufacturers to access supply sources and survey demand among domestic health establishments.

The agency said it will give maximum priority to licensing the circulation and importation of monkeypox medication and drug materials in line with regulations.

3D mapping model to help improve national park management

The Participatory 3D Mapping (P3DM) project in Cuc Phuong National Park has been developed recently under a cooperative arrangement between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the park. The P3DM model is expected to help with the management and protection of local natural resources.
 
The Participatory 3D Mapping (P3DM) project in Cuc Phuong National Park has been developed recently under a cooperative arrangement between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the park. The P3DM model is expected to help with the management and protection of local natural resources.

The model was formed from May to July 2022 with support from teachers and students at the Nho Quan B High School in Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh province, along with residents in the 18 villages located in the park’s core and buffer zones in Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, and Thanh Hoa provinces.

The model was conducted at villages in and around Cuc Phuong National Park, the first national park of Vietnam. The aim was to address challenges in sustaining viable ecotourism products in and around the national park and to engage local ethnic minority communities in developing new sustainable and resilient community-based ecotourism itineraries that also support post-COVID-19 recovery.

The model will continually be updated with the participation of relevant parties and the utilisation of digital technology and the internet, to help turn the park into a sustainable tourist destination.

Hoi An among 25 best cities of the world in 2022

Hoi An, the sole representative of Vietnam, is ranked 20th among the 25 best cities of the world in 2022, as voted by readers of Travel + Leisure US travel magazine.
 
Readers ranked the cities based on factors such as the quality of hotels and restaurants, cultural heritage, attractions, cuisine, and COVID-19 protocols.

Hoi An used to be a busy international commercial port from the 16th to 19th centuries, attracting merchant ships from China and Japan. It is a World Heritage site recognized by UNESCO.

Recently, Dubai-based Time Out magazine has also listed Hoi An among "the very best places" to travel to in July with warm weather.

Vietnam a new destination for foreign students

Many foreign students have chosen to study in Vietnam and their number is on the rise. The country holds significant potential to become an attractive destination for foreign students.
 
Hristiyan and Nikoleta will complete their six-month exchange programme in a few days.

Although their time in Vietnam is coming to an end, the two Bulgarians have so many unforgettable memories.

Home to a diverse culture, cordial citizens, and a quality education environment, Vietnam has emerged as a favourite destination for students across the globe.

Foreign students in Vietnam used to mostly come from neighbouring countries. Over recent years, however, more have come from developed countries such as Canada, the Republic of Korea, and Australia. Some 20,000 foreign students are now studying in Vietnam, primarily in graduate and post-graduate studies.

Improving the quality of tertiary education is among the top policies Vietnam has introduced to fulfil human resources demand, with due attention being paid to international integration.

Vietnam has earned the love of many international friends, and is likely to welcome more young foreign students in the time to come.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes