The North and Central Vietnam continue to suffer from a widespread heatwave on August 23, but the extreme weather is forecast to cool down in the North from August 24.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF), the hot weather in the central provinces is likely to continue until about August 24 or 25.

Due to the influence of a western low pressure combined with southwest winds, the area from Thanh Hoa to Phu Yen will witness fierce heat today (August 23), with temperatures ranging from 35-38 degrees Celsius. Some places may face extreme sweltering heat as the mercury may rise to 39C.

Burning heat continues to grip the Northern provinces, with the highest temperatures ranging from 35-37 degrees Celsius, even rising over 37 degrees Celsius in some places. The lowest relative humidity is at 50-60%. Temperatures of over 35 degrees Celsius will last from 11-16 hours.

Highest temperatures in Hanoi today will rise to 35-37 degrees Celsius, with lowest relative humidity at 50-60%.

The influence of the prolonged and intense heat combined with low humidity in the air and strong southwest winds may cause a high risk of fires and explosions in residential areas due to the high demand for electricity as well as a high risk of bush fires in the central region.

In addition, the hot weather can also cause dehydration, exhaustion, and heatstroke for those exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time.

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue attends AIPA-42 opening ceremony

 

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and other delegates of Vietnam attends the AIPA-42 opening ceremony via videoconference on August 23 morning

Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the virtual opening ceremony of the 42nd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-42), held by Brunei on August 23 morning.

AIPA-42, themed “Forging Parliamentary Cooperation in Digital Inclusion towards ASEAN Community 2025”, is taking place via videoconference from August 23 to 25 with the participation of leaders and legislators of AIPA member parliaments, observer delegations, and the AIPA Secretary-General.

In his welcoming remarks, the AIPA-42 President and Speaker of the Legislative Council of Brunei, Abdul Rahman Taib Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Lela, congratulated Vietnam on successfully organising AIPA-41 via videoconference last year.

He noted that as the theme of AIPA-42 says, member parliaments should promote and create conditions for digital inclusion and consider this as a measure for further enhancing parliamentary cooperation amid the pandemic.

The theme also highlights parliamentarians’ important role in supporting the ASEAN vision of a politically cohesive, economically integrated, and socially responsible community towards the ASEAN Community in 2025.

Such notable issues as women empowerment, climate change, cyber security, and international economic integration have been included in the AIPA-42 agenda, according to the speaker.

Declaring the opening of AIPA-42, Bruneian Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Chair of ASEAN 2021, held that this year, the bloc stays responsive to unexpected events, and AIPA is in the process of promoting the cohesion among member parliaments so as to help build an increasingly cohesive ASEAN Community.

Additional 3,000 medical workers assist southern localities with highest COVID-19 infections

According to the Ministry of Health, around 2,250-2,300 officials, experts, doctors, nurses and students from units under the ministry along with around 750 medical workers from provinces and cities will assist Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An in the COVID-19 fight.

On August 22, Head of Department of Organisation and Personnel under the Health Ministry Nguyen Hong Son said that the department sent documents to relevant agencies, provinces and cities to mobilise more medical staff to support the four abovementioned localities, which have the highest numbers of COVID-19 infections.

As of last night, 1,800 officials, lecturers and students from a number of medical and pharmaceutical universities and colleges have voluntarily registered to assist Ho Chi Minh City. Out of these, 750 students from Bach Mai Medical College were present in the city to join in taking samples for COVID-19 testing on August 23.

The Ministry of Health is continuing to mobilise more health workers for the fight against epidemic in the above city and provinces.

As of August 21, 14,543 medical officials, experts, doctors, nurses, lecturers and students have arrived in southern localities.

In addition, the Health Ministry has mobilised ten full testing vans and personnel with capacity of 3,000 testing samples per day.  

* The Ministry of Public Security announced that all vehicles issued with “green channel” cards are asked to make medical declarations via the ministry’s citizen management software in pandemic-affected areas at suckhoe.dancuquocgia.gov.vn when they go through epidemic control points in 25 southern provinces and cities starting from 10pm on August 22.

The Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Information and Communications have agreed to use a QR code and a medical declaration form with simple declaration of information based on population data to ensure accuracy.

The declaration will help in tracing F0, F1 and F2 cases and promptly supporting the checkpoints.

Hanoi to hold online opening ceremony for new school year

The opening ceremony for the 2021-2022 new school year scheduled for September 5 is expected to be held online and broadcast live on Hanoi Radio and Television.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Pham Van Dai shared on August 20 that the new school year opening ceremony is anticipated to take place as scheduled on September 5 but in virtual form due to the ongoing complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the time frame for the 2021-2022 school year issued by the Hanoi People's Committee, students of all grades in the capital city will return to school as early as September 1 and the opening ceremony will be held simultaneously at schools across the city on September 5.

Despite the pandemic, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training effectively conducted and fulfilled the enrolment for the first and sixth grades. The online enrolment saw the highest rate ever with 87.4% for Grade 1 and 86% for Grade 6.

At an earlier date, the entrance exam for Grade 10 also took place safely and smoothly amid the outbreaks of the pandemic.

A record number of COVID-19 deaths reported on Sunday

A record number of COVID-related deaths were recorded over the weekend, 737 in total, with 599 in HCM City.

The total number of people who have died of COVID-19 complications now stands at 8,277, accounting for 2.4 per cent of the total infections in the country – the same as the world average rate.

Bình Dương, Đồng Nai, Tiền Giang and Đồng Tháp all reported a two-digit number of deaths  - 62, 25, 22 and 11 respectively.

Other fatalities were reported in Cần Thơ (4), Long An (4), Hà Nội (2), Bến Tre (2), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (1), Hà Tĩnh (1), Kiên Giang (1), Sóc Trăng (1), Thừa Thiên Huế (1) and Vĩnh Long (1).

The Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 11,214 new COVID-19 infections, including six imported cases.

This was the fourth day running with a daily increase surpassing 10,000.

Of new 11,208 locally-transmitted cases, 4,193 cases were in HCM City, 3,795 cases in Bình Dương, 849 in Đồng Nai, 709 in Tiền Giang, 365 in Long An, 183 in Đà Nẵng, 160 in Khánh Hòa, 142 in Đồng Tháp and 107 in Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu.

Other infections were reported in Cần Thơ (97), Tây Ninh (83), An Giang (69), Nghệ An (68), Vĩnh Long (49), Bình Thuận (47), Đắk Nông (39), Trà Vinh (39), Phú Yên (38), Bình Định (20), Hà Tĩnh (20), Quảng Nam (16), Kiên Giang (15), Sơn La (15), Đắk Lắk (12), Bắc Ninh (11), Hà Nội (11), Gia Lai (10), Cà Mau (10), Hậu Giang (7), Lào Cai (6), Bắc Giang (6), Ninh Thuận (5), Lạng Sơn (5), Quảng Ngãi (3), Quảng Trị (3) and Thái Bình (1).

A total of 6,387 cases were detected in communities outside of lockdown areas or concentrated quarantine areas.

Also on August 22, Sóc Trăng Centre for Disease Control registered an additional 138 cases which were detected on previous days and added to the Ministry of Health’s data system.

Việt Nam has so far documented 348,059 COVID-19 cases, with 147,667 people recovered. This, after a further 7,580 patients were given all-clear on Sunday.

The five localities with highest infections are HCM City (175,994), Bình Dương (70,242), Long An (17,805), Đồng Nai (17,688) and Tiền Giang (7.284).

Among patients under treatment, 687 are being cared for in ICU and 24 are using machines to help them breath.

A total of 17,065,896 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far, with 15,274,648 people receiving the first shot and 1,791,248 receiving two.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam Vaccine JSC (VNVC) handed over 1.2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccinations to the Health Ministry in Ho Chi Minh City on August 22.

It was the ninth batch of VNVC’s order of 30 million doses placed in November 2020.

Since July 9, over 6.2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine have been sent to Vietnam via the VNVC, bringing the total to about more than 7 million doses.

The VNVC pledged to cover all costs estimated at hundreds of billions of đồng, during vaccine purchase, transportation, storage and hand-over procedures.

Webinar in Canada marks Vietnam's National Day

The Canada-Vietnam Friendship Society (CVFS) on August 22 held a webinar marking the 76th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and the National Day of Vietnam (September 2).

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong underlined the significance of the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at that time, which is hailed as a glorious milestone in the history of national foundation and safeguarding.

In the past two decades, Vietnam was among the fastest growing economies of the world. Despite the global pandemic, the country posted a gross domestic production growth rate of 5.64 percent in the first half of this year, proving itself as an attractive investment destination, he added.

The diplomat expressed his hope that international friends will further assist the country with COVID-19 vaccine access to help Vietnamese people surmount difficulties triggered by the pandemic.

For his part, CVFS representative Steve Rutchinski congratulated Vietnam on the successful organisation of the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and people’s councils at all levels in the 2021-2026 tenure, with a turnout of 99.6 percent that demonstrates people’s trust in the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Government.

At the event, Prof. Dr Pham Quang Minh, Vice President of the Vietnam-Canada Friendship Association delivered a report which affirms that the spirit of the August Revolution has been upheld in the path of building socialism in Vietnam, especially in the COVID-19 fight.

Under the leadership of the CPV and with people’s solidarity, Vietnam will win the battle against the pandemic, he believed./.

Three arrested for smuggling 46kg of crystal meth from Laos into Vietnam

Border guards in the central province of Quang Tri have busted a trans-border drug trafficking ring from Laos to Vietnam, seizing 46kg of crystal meth, the provincial Border Guard Command announced on August 23.

Two traffickers were arrested in Ka Tieng Village, Huong Viet Commune, Huong Hoa District at around 4:05pm after being caught red-handed carrying the drugs, a pistol and six bullets.

Another person involving in the ring was taken into custody few hours later while being on a Laos-registered car.

The case is under further investigation.

HCM City upgrades information retrieval system on COVID-19 patients

The system's user interface.

The system is connected to the management systems of hospitals and sends text messages to the patients’ families when their condition changes.

Previously, the municipal Health Department set up a system to search for information on COVID-19 patients at https://tracuuf0.medinet.org.vn.

After providing the necessary information about a patient on the site, his or her relative will receive an SMS updating the patient's condition changes or relocation to other places via a phone number registered when the patient is admitted to the hospital.

HCM City, Vietnam’s largest COVID-19 hotspot, has so far recorded over 170,000 infections./.

VFF stops ongoing V-League 2021 due to COVID-19

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) has decided to stop the remaining matches of the ongoing V-League 2021 – the No.1 football tournament in Vietnam – due to the complex development of the COVID-19 pandemic.

VFF leaders made their decision at a meeting on August 21, saying all V-League FCs will be informed of the decision in the coming days.

The cancellation of the tournament means football clubs will not have to wait until the season resumes, thereby helping reduce economic loss.

Earlier, the Vietnam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) that runs the V-League proposed that the 2021-2022 season would be postponed till early 2022.

However, the proposal was met with strong opposition from several clubs that said they do not have funds to pay players’ salaries while they stay at home during the COVID-19 pandemic period.  

Also at the executive committee meeting, the VFF agreed that Hoang ANh Gia Lai (HAGL) FC will represent Vietnam at AFC Champions League 2022, while Viettel FC and Than Quang Ninh FC will compete at the AFC Cup 2022.

After 12 rounds of matches, HAGL FC currently top the standing, followed by Viettel FC and Than Quang Ninh FC.

The VPF was established on December 5, 2011 with the VFF playing as the largest shareholder.

COVID-19 developments remain complicated in Southeast Asia

Laos’ daily count of COVID-19 cases has exceeded 300, while the figure has surpassed 16,000 in the Philippines.

The Lao Ministry of Health on August 22 confirmed 305 new cases of COVID-19, comprising 224 imported and 81 community ones.

The local pandemic conditions remained complicated with increasing number of cases detected in the community.

To date, the nation recorded a total of 12,469 infections, including 11 deaths.

Thailand logged 19,014 new cases of COVID-19 along with 233 more fatalities on the same day, the nation’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said.

A spokesperson for the CCSA said earlier that despite the situation remains worrisome, there are positive signs showing that the number of new infections has passed its peak, which might slow down the new caseload.

Since the pandemic first hit the country early last year, Thailand has had 1,049,295 infections, 839,855 of whom have recovered, while the death toll stands at 9,320. As of August 21, the country has administered more than 26.7 million doses of vaccines, with 8.5 percent of its whole population having been fully vaccinated, according to the CCSA.

Also on August 22, the Philippines logged 16,044 new coronavirus cases and 215 related deaths, bringing the national tally and death toll to 1,839,635 and 31,810, respectively./.

Vietnam retain Southeast Asia’s reign in latest FIFA women’s rankings

Vietnam held on to the top position in Southeast Asia in the latest women’s rankings as announced by the world football’s governing body, FIFA, on August 20.

Coach Mai Duc Chung’s side did not play any international matches in the last three months, and thus remain at No. 32 in the world and No. 6 in Asia with 1,657 points.

Vietnam were followed by Thailand (world No. 39), Chinese Taipei (world No. 40), Uzbekistan (world No. 43), and Myanmar (world No. 46) in the continent’s top 10.

The AFC standings recorded the strongest shuffles in the top four, stemming from the disappointing results of teams at the recent Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Specifically, China were eliminated in the group stage, while hosts Japan crashed out in the quarterfinals, falling to 13th and 17th in the world, respectively. 

Australia advanced to the Olympic semifinals and only lost against the United States in the bronze medal match, but still saw a two-spot plunge to world No. 11. Surprisingly enough, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) moved up two notches to ninth in the world and No. 1 in Asia.

The DPRK have also withdrawn from the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, in which Vietnam have been placed in Group B alongside Afghanistan, Maldives and hosts Tajikistan. According to the detailed schedule recently announced by the AFC, Mai Duc Chung’s side will play these three opponents on September 23, 26 and 29, respectively. 

Despite failing to defend the Olympic gold medal, the United States remained on top of the world standings with 2,110 points. Canada jumped two places to sixth (2,021 points) thanks to their supreme victory at Tokyo 2020, while Olympic runners-up Sweden climbed three places to No. 2 (2,088).

Coronavirus outbreak hitting its peak in Binh Duong, expert says

The coronavirus outbreak in Binh Duong is hitting its peak as the numbers of new infections and recoveries are levelling off, according to Assoc. Prof. & Dr. Nguyen Lan Hieu, director of the Hanoi Medical University.

The number of new COVID-19 patients in Binh Duong has constantly increased over the past few days, as the province is speeding up COVID-19 testing. On August 21 alone, the industrial complex hub recorded 4,505 new cases, overtaking its neighbour Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s largest coronavirus hotspot.

The number of new cases is expected to continue to rise in the coming days, said Dr. Hieu, who was dispatched to Binh Duong by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to assist with the COVID-19 fight.

However, Hieu said with the MoH’s COVID-19 treatment protocol in place, the number of patients discharged from hospital there is increasing considerably, reaching up to 5,000 on some days. It is expected that recoveries will likely outpace new infections, noted Hieu.

According to the expert, the province is going in the right direction when it is stepping up the testing drive and expanding the capacity of treatment facilities.

Currently, Binh Duong is establishing another intensive care unit (ICU) centre at Becamex International Hospital capable of treating 337 serious and critically ill patients. It has also converted its Lung Diseases and Tuberculosis Hospital into an ICU centre to treat critically ill patients.

Along with the Provincial General Hospital, Binh Duong will have three ICU centres that are able to treat critically ill patients.

“Whether we succeed in the COVID-19 fight depends a lot on local people’s support and cooperation. We hope the people will strictly implement social distancing measures so that we will pass the peak by the end of August,” Hieu told local media outlets.

Á ò August 21, Binh Duong had recorded more than 66,000 infections, or one fifth of the country’s total, since the resurgence of the virus nearly four months ago.

Teacher dedicated to improving education in mountainous areas

Over the past 19 years, teacher Đỗ Thị Nhàn has always tried to overcome difficulties and improve education in mountainous areas.

Nhàn, 40, was born and grew up in the northern province of Hưng Yên. From an early age she dreamed of being a teacher in some of the country’s mountainous regions. And now she teaches at the Tân Lĩnh Junior Secondary and Primary School in Lục Yên District.

Nhàn told the Giáo dục Việt Nam (Việt Nam Education) newspaper that she first went to Yên Bái Province in 1996 as her father worked there. She spent her years of high school in the province.

“At that time, local people were much poorer than at present, but they were honest, genuine and close to each other. Since that time, I thought that no matter what major I study, I would come back to help local people, especially children," said Nhàn.

After graduating from the Vĩnh Phúc College of Education, Nhàn came to Yên Bái Province to teach.

In her first days of being a village teacher, Nhàn struggled to communicate because she did not understand the ethnic minorities’ language.

Nhàn decided to teach a common language for local people, especially children.

“Nineteen years ago, village-based teachers like us had many difficulties with no electricity, no clean water and a lack of infrastructure. For cooking, we had to take water from streams and wood from the forest,” she said.

Despite the obstacles, everyone tried their best to fulfil their tasks.

“I think only love can overcome difficulties and hardship. Now residents understand education and let their children go to school. That is the reward for village teachers after so much hard effort,” said Nhàn.

The sad eyes of children who wish to go to school but do not have books or clothes give her strength to continue her teaching journey in a poor land that is warm with humanity.

Nhàn also acts as “bridge” to connect sponsors with poor students. 

“Most students live far from school. Some of them have to travel over several hills and others must come across streams, so they must stop school in flood season,” said Nhàn.

Recently, students living too far are allowed to live at the school and students who have to cross waterways are given money to pay for a ferry service. Thanks to these efforts, the number of students quitting school is falling.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact on the education sector, meaning students could not go to school and the Tân Lĩnh School tried online learning.

Nhàn said that with students in mountainous provinces, online teaching doesn’t really work, because they do not have the equipment at home, or the internet connection was not stable enough.

In many families, students live with their grandparents because their parents work far from home to earn a living. The grandparents find it difficult to help with e-learning.

Nhàn and her colleagues must go to each village to give students exercises and assign homework.

“Village-based teachers not only bring lessons to students but also bring enthusiasm, dedication and love,” she said.

Besides teaching at school, teachers like Nhàn also try to eradicate illiteracy in villages. They make home visits to teach a common language in the evening because at that time residents return home after a day of work.

“Not everyone is ready to learn. Most of them are old and don’t want to learn new things. We must educate them and change their awareness about learning,” said Nhàn.

Nhàn’s husband also works in the education sector.

“I want to help all students go to school, and ensure they learn. When education improves, people’s lives improve too,” she said.

Hardship will remain, but Nhàn believes that local lives will gradually get better. Some students have returned to the school to support other younger classmates.

“It’s a beautiful image for teachers like us to continue education in mountainous areas,” said Nhàn.

Vietnamese, Cambodian border guards coordinate in fighting COVID-19

A delegation of the Ia O border guard station in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai met their Cambodian counterparts on August 22 to discuss joint work to protect border areas and fight COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the event, head of the station Lieut. Col. Dinh Cong Thong suggested both sides jointly safeguard border areas in the spirit of respecting the two nations’ border sovereignty.

Border guard stations under the provincial Border Guard Command are ready to buy food and necessities for Cambodian counterparts to partly ease their difficulties amid the pandemic, he said.

The two sides pledged to uphold the fine tradition of the two countries to work closely together on border protection, crime prevention and control, thus building a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

On the occasion, the Ia O border station also presented food, necessities and medical supplies to its Cambodian counterparts./.

Mekong Delta province strives to improve lives of ethnic Khmer

The lives of the Khmer people in Trà Vinh have improved significantly since the province began to prioritise investment in infrastructure and support policies for them in recent years.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province has more than 300,000 Khmer, or nearly 32 per cent of its population and the second largest number in the delta after Sóc Trăng.

In Khmer-dominated areas, the province has given priority to creating infrastructure, including rural roads to enable them to travel and transport agricultural produce.

In Cầu Kè District’s Châu Điền Commune, 80 per cent of the 409 households in Trà Bơn Hamlet are Khmer, and all roads there are paved under the national target programme on building new-style rural areas.

Sơn Đường, secretary of the Trà Bôn Party Cell, said the hamlet has built five roads, dredged and upgraded 12 in-field irrigation canals and built 14 concrete bridges since 2015.

“The appearance of the hamlet has been improved significantly.”

Local Khmer households actively participate in the programme and have even donated more than 3.5ha land for building roads since 2015, he said.

Phạm Minh Truyền, director of the department, said the province has mobilised more than VNĐ5.7 trillion (US$250 million) to implement the national target programme on building new-style rural areas in 2016 -20.

Now 72 of the province’s 85 communes meet all 19 criteria for new-style rural areas set under the national programme. They are related to planning, infrastructure, transport, irrigation, electricity, income, education, healthcare, environment, social security, culture, and others.  

The province targets all communes to be in full compliance by 2025.

Support

Trà Vinh has effectively implemented poverty reduction models to help poor Khmer people do agriculture or business and reduce poverty in recent years.

Trà Cú District, where more than 62 per cent of the population are Khmer, for instance, has adopted a model in Đại An Commune’s Giồng Lớn A Hamlet under which, in unproductive monoculture rice fields, rice and taro or corn are rotated.

Taro offers farmers an income of VNĐ150 – 200 million ($6,600 – 8,700) per hectare per crop of around four months, and because of the high income, many farmers have opted for taro.

The average annual income of people in Giồng Lớn A has increased to VNĐ48 million ($2,100) per person now, an increase of VNĐ30 million ($1,300) from 2012.

The hamlet has only eight poor households now, 200 fewer than in 2012.

Besides helping local households restructure agriculture, local authorities have also supported the district’s three handicraft villages to develop production to create more jobs, especially for Khmer people.

The villages, which produce household utensils from bamboo and sedge, provide jobs for 3,000 labourers with an average monthly income of VNĐ2.5 – 6 million ($110 - 260).

Trì Cảnh Establishment, which makes tables, chairs and other household utensils from bamboo in Hàm Giang Commune’s bamboo handicraft village, has its table-chair set recognised as a four-star OCOP product under the national ‘one commune – one products’ (OCOP) programme.

The set includes a table, two chairs and a bench.

Local authorities are helping the establishment register for increasing the rating to five star, the programme’s highest level.

Dương Văn Triệu, secretary of the Trà Cú District Party Committee, said with the implementation of synchronous poverty reduction measures, the lives of people have improved significantly and the poverty rate is being reduced year after year.

More than 700 poor households escaped poverty last year and the district targets a further 863 poor households this year, he said.

The province’s support to poor Khmer people in the form of soft loans and other financial assistance, and free vocational training have helped many escape poverty and achieve stable lives.

Farmer Thạch Hoài Phong in Cầu Ngang District’s Thuận Hoà Commune used to be poor before he was given two soft loans for building a house and growing vegetables on his 5,000sq.m farm.

With the VNĐ25 million ($1,100) loan for farming, he has escaped poverty after a few years of growing vegetables, he said.

Besides, he now has a rice combine harvester that he hires out to earn VNĐ50 million ($2,200) during each rice crop, he said.     

The province People’s Committee has instructed the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to strengthen support to farmers, especially Khmer, for restructuring their farming to increase incomes.

The province hopes to achieve annual average output of VNĐ145 million ($6,400) per hectare of crops and VNĐ380 million ($16,700) per hectare of aquaculture by 2025, up VNĐ 15 – 20 million ($660 - 880) from this year.

For this, it will prioritise use of funds from the Government to support ethnic households while using its own resources to build infrastructure.

It will develop farming models that use advanced techniques and offer high incomes, and train Khmer farmers in them to help increase their incomes. 

Minister hails significance of Conclusion on OV affairs

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son has highlighted the significance of Conclusion No.12-KL/TW on the overseas Vietnamese (OV) affairs in the new situation issued by the Politburo on August 12.

In a recent interview granted to the press, Son said the Conclusion continues affirming the Party and State’s consistent and sound policy of firmly consolidating the great national unity, with the OV community being an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation, gathering people from all walks of life at home and abroad to uphold the power of the entire nation for country development.

He added that the Conclusion promotes OV affairs more comprehensively and strongly in the spirit of the Resolution adopted by the 13th National Party Congress and the Politburo’s Resolution No.36 and Directive No.45, with a focus on helping the OVs gain solid legal status, well integrate into the host societies, and enhance their national pride on the back of suitable policies to enable them to make effective contributions to national construction and defence in the new situation.

According to him, the Conclusion also demonstrates the Party and State’s responsibility for caring for the OVs and meeting their legitimate aspirations, thus encouraging them to rise up in life, bring into full play their potential, and contribute to the homeland.

The Conclusion said after over five years of implementing the Politburo’s Directive No.45-CT/TW dated May 19, 2015 on continuing to step up the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No.36-NQ/TW dated March 26, 2004 on OV affairs, the Vietnamese community abroad now counts about 5.3 million in over 130 countries and territories, over 80 percent of which are developed nations. A majority of overseas Vietnamese have legal status and stable life, and well integrate into the host society. Wherever they are, they always look toward the homeland, becoming an indispensable part of the Vietnamese nation and an important resource to contribute to the cause of national construction and development. With the country’s increasingly improved position and prestige on international arena, their trust has been more and more reinforced.

Such changes are the result of the overseas Vietnamese's efforts toward the nation and the active involvement of the entire political system and people. However, the OV affairs still show some shortcomings.

To continue effectively carrying out Resolution No.36 and Directive No.45 on OV affairs, the Politburo asked Party committees and organisations to raise awareness and sense of responsibility for performing the Party and State’s policy of great national unity among the OVs. They are required to urge the OVs, especially young people, to contribute to the development of the host countries, thus becoming a bridge to foster ties between Vietnam and nations. Those who make active contributions to the cause of national construction and defence will be promptly honoured.

The Politburo asked for enhancing collaboration with the host authorities, adopting comprehensive measures to assist OVs, especially those in disadvantaged areas, as well as further improving the efficiency of citizen protection work and management of workers and students.

Further attention should be paid to increasing international cooperation in justice, security, crime prevention and control, and effective crackdown on human trafficking, illegal immigration and residence, thus ensuring security in communities and thoroughly dealing with violations by OVs in the host countries.

Other tasks include promoting the strength of the great national unity, fine-tuning legal system, reforming administrative procedures, performing synchronous polices involving OVs when they come back home to work and reside, meeting their need for citizenship in accordance with Vietnam’s Constitution, laws and Resolution No.36, and perfecting a mechanism to receive and effectively bring into play ideas by Vietnamese experts, intellectuals and businesspeople abroad.

Regarding activities to maintain the Vietnamese language and uphold the nation's cultural identity and traditions, the Politburo requested cooperating with the host nations to improve the efficiency of Vietnamese teaching and learning, add the Vietnamese language into the curricula of educational establishments in areas where many OVs are living, as well as consider building more cultural centres there and designating a Day to honour the Vietnamese language to encourage generations of the OVs to learn it.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son symbolically presents donations to national COVID-19 vaccine fund (Photo: VNA)
Asked about the OVs’ contributions to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic over the past time, Son said in response to the appeal of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) leaders, they donated over 50 billion VND (nearrly 2.2 million USD) together with medical equipment and materials to the national COVID-19 prevention and control fund.

Many of them actively cooperated in transferring vaccine production technology and shared experience in pandemic prevention and control, as well as allowed the use of their facilities in Vietnam to serve the effort, he said, adding that the OVs in many countries have actively worked with the Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to carry out vaccine diplomacy strategy, and call on the host nations to offer vaccine and medical supplies support to Vietnam.

According to Son, the Foreign Ministry and Vietnamese representative agencies also actively urged the host authorities to create favourable conditions for the OVs to stabilise their lives and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. More than 540 flights have so far been conducted to bring about 136,000 Vietnamese citizens home safety.

Via upholding patriotism in the fight against the pandemic, the OVs have contributed to consolidating the great national unity, improving the image and prestige of the country and the position of the Vietnamese community in the eyes of international friends, he said.

The minister expressed his wish that the the OVs would continue supporting guidelines, policies and appeals of the Party, State and VFF leaders to stand side by side with their compatriots at home in driving back the pandemic, for the aspiration of a strong and prosperous nation./.

Hanoi urged strict compliance with social distancing measures to curb virus spread

On Saturday, Chairman of Hà Nội People's Committee Chu Ngọc Anh issued Dispatch No.19/CĐ/UBND officialising the extension of lockdown measures city-wide until September 6 as COVID-19 situation remains complicated.

People are told to absolutely remain where they are to stop the spread and testing will be amplified to 'filter out' F0 (or positive COVID-19 cases) in the community and control outbreaks within the lockdown period.

“This is a critical juncture in the fight against the pandemic, and the city asks that each resident should see themselves as a soldier, and each family, each residential neighbourhood, each village, each commune a fortress against the pandemic,” the dispatch reads.

“One careless act of complacency at this time would have significant impacts on the city’s COVID-19 fight, and may result in further extension of social distancing measures, consequences to public health, social order and public security, and the economy.”

Local administrations are allowed to apply tougher measures (compared to the citywide measures) depending on the perceived risks to end the outbreak in the shortest time frame possible, while making sure people get sufficient access to essential items, food, medical services and vaccinations.

Inspections of all those businesses allowed to operate and people allowed to go outside (especially with regards to producing, transporting and supplying essential goods) would be strengthened during the lockdown period, and severe fines would be levied against offenders, the dispatch stressed.

Hà Nội will strengthen COVID-19 prevention and control measures at wholesale markets, markets, malls, supermarkets, and convenience stores, etc especially during the National Day (September 2) holiday and over the weekend.

The city’s police will continue to maintain checkpoints and mobile inspection posts to monitor public compliance with COVID-19 measures (especially in terms of checking permits).

The health department has been told to prepare for all scenarios, enhance contact tracing to avoid missing potential high-risks exposure given the highly transmissibility of the new variant of coronavirus, and make sure testing results are returned within 12 hours for those direct contacts at high-risk and 24 hours for the remaining people. 

During the lockdown, the city’s authorities ordered relevant agencies to ensure undisrupted supply chains of the city and market stability, guarantee safety in delivering food and other essential goods to all residents (especially in locked down areas and quarantine facilities) so that no one is left wanting.

The Hà Nội Capital City High Command will coordinate with the Hà Nội branch of the Việt Nam Fatherland Front and local administrations in guaranteeing social welfare and stand ready to support people in other daily needs, increase quarantine facilities capacity to up to 70,000 and closely monitor the centralised facilities to prevent cross-infection and spread to the community.

People with difficulties or running into problems could call up the city's helpline 24 hours a day.

Earlier on Friday, the city's Party Committee said it has approved the city's plan to extend lockdown measures.

This latest protractment of the social distancing order would make the longest COVID-19 lockdown the capital city has ever enforced since the entire nation came under Directive 16 and completely shut its border earlier last year when the coronavirus reached pandemic status.

Since late April, the start of the fourth wave in Việt Nam, the capital city recorded over 2,500 cases of COVID-19, with almost half of them community-acquired infections.

As of today, Hà Nội has administered more than 2.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine – not counting the doses given by ministry-level hospitals and facilities headquartered here – and 41 per cent of the population above 18 years old have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Con Dao Airport to be expanded to serve 2 mln passengers per year

 

The airport on Con Dao Island, the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, will be expanded and upgraded to better serve rising passenger demand and the operation of new-generation aircraft.

In the adjusted airport planning by 2030 recently approved by Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The, Con Dao Airport will have a capacity of 2 million passengers and 4,400 tonnes of cargo per year and be able to handle Code-C or equivalent aircraft.

A new passenger terminal is expected to be built to the southeast of the existing facility. An area to the west of the passenger terminal has also been zoned for constructing a cargo terminal.

The zoned land area covers more than 181ha, including over 104ha of the existing airport and 77ha of additional land.

The Ministry of Transport said the growth of passenger traffic at Con Dao Airport has outpaced the prediction in the old planning, and the current throughput has exceeded the existing terminal’s capacity.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, this airport still served 447,750 passengers in 2020, up 4.1 percent from 2019./.

Expatriates in Japan support Vietnamese Paralympic athletes

Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy and overseas Vietnamese community in Japan on August 21 visited and presented gifts to the Vietnamese sport delegation to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (Tokyo Paralympics).

Speaking at the event on behalf of the community, Buddhist nun Thich Tam Tri, President of the Association of Vietnamese Buddhists in Japan, wished the delegation good health and achievements at the sport tournament.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration Nguyen Hong Minh, who is also head of the Vietnamese delegation, expressed his gratitude toward the Vietnamese expatriates in Japan for their attention and encouragement.

He said the support will help fuel Vietnamese athletes’ determination to deliver their best performance at the games.

The 15-strong Vietnamese sport delegation includes seven athletes who will compete in three sports, namely weightlifting, swimming and athletics at the Tokyo Paralympics, slated for August 24-September 5./.

Unofficial workers In Hanoi struggle to survive pandemic

Thousands of unofficial workers who have lost their jobs and have no stable income are struggling to survive during the coronavirus pandemic in Hà Nội.

“I have not experienced this situation before,” said Nguyễn Văn Thế, a repairman in Hà Nội.

Thế has been the main breadwinner of his family since his wife gave birth to their son several years ago.

Since the fourth wave of the pandemic hit the capital, Thế has had to stay at home due to social distancing.

“We have to use our meagre savings to manage to survive during the pandemic,” he said. “Life is very hard.”

Not far from Thế’s tiny rented room, a group of builders live temporarily on a construction site.

Due to social distancing, their job at the site has been temporarily suspended.

“Our food is mainly dried fish and vegetables day after day,” a builder said. “We do not know how long we can manage."

Lò Thị Bống, a Thai-ethnic worker on a construction site in Hàng Buồm Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, said she and nine other workers on the site had been stranded there nearly a month since the city applied social distancing.

Bống said she left her home town in Điện Biên Province to earn a living in Hà Nội.

The money she earned was sent to her parents in her home town to bring up Bống’s two children.

“Now I cannot earn money, I also cannot send money to bring up my children,” she said. “I feel very worried."

Bống said she and the other workers often had to eat instant noodles.

“We only have rice to eat if there is a charity group giving it to us,” she said.

She wished the pandemic was over so that life go back to normal.

Đỗ Văn Chiến, a porter in Long Biên wholesale market, Ba Đình District, said he had lost his job due to social distancing.

The single father and his daughter were living on charity packages donated by kind-hearted people in recent days.

Support package

The People’s Committee of Hà Nội announced last Saturday that the city had decided to support ten groups of people affected by the pandemic.

Certain groups do not belong to the list of affected people receiving a support package from Government Resolution No 68.

Data from the city’s Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs Department show that more than 324,000 people will benefit from the city’s support, worth over VNĐ345 billion (US$15 million).

The beneficiaries of the support package include poor households; near-poor households; people receiving social allowance; people living in social protection centres; people serving the revolution; relatives of people serving the revolution; and war invalids.

Under the support package, the city also supports employees working at business households; those who have had to suspend work or take unpaid leave due to the pandemic; and employees working at business households that have had labour contract terminated but are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

The committee also approved a decision on July 21 to support unofficial workers in the city affected by the pandemic.

The decision said unofficial workers were eligible for support if they were legally residing in the city and had lost their jobs due to the pandemic from May 1 to December 31, 2021.

The support is worth VNĐ1.5 million (US$66) per person.

Unofficial workers must make a dossier and send it after the 15th day every month to the commune-level People's Committee where they reside for approval.

The dossier will be considered and approved within two days. 

Vietnamese Consulate General in Japan raises fund for COVID-19 fight at home

The Vietnamese Consulate General in Japan’s Fukuoka raised 776,000 JPY (7,066 USD) for Vietnam’s COVID-19 vaccine fund at a virtual fundraising event held on August 21.

At the event, Vietnamese Consul General Vu Binh urged Vietnamese people and friends of Vietnam to join hands in helping the nation push back the pandemic.

Tomioka Tsutomu, President of the Nagasaki–Vietnam Friendship Association, expressed his sympathy to the Government and people of Vietnam for their current difficulties. He affirmed that he and his association will participate in campaigning for the vaccine fund and help Vietnam combat the pandemic.

Representatives of Vietnamese associations in eight southwestern provinces of Japan, the Vietnam Youth and Student Association (VYSA) in Fukuoka, and the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Oita showed their trust in anti-pandemic measures being taken by the Vietnamese Government. They also committed to making contributions to the fundraising campaign.

The campaign continues raising donations for the vaccine fund until September 15.

The Vietnamese Consulate General in Fukuoka is in charge of the consular area covering eight southwestern Japanese provinces – Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto, Nagasaki, Oita, Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Okinawa./.

Military force to provide essential goods to people during 2-week social distancing

The military force will establish rapid reaction teams to provide food, medicines and essential goods for people in HCM City beginning on Monday (August 23), according to Senior Lieutenant General Võ Minh Lương, head of the Government's Special Working Group and Deputy Minister of National Defence.

The teams will work with the city’s War Veterans’ Association, Women Veterans' Association, Women's Union and the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union to carry out food delivery and supervise locked-down and quarantine areas.

Lương has asked military and police forces, Government agencies and the trade and industry sector to work together to ensure food and essential goods for the city’s people in the next two weeks.

Phạm Thị Thắng, vice chairwoman of the city People’s Committee, said the city has assessed the nutritional value of food and specific quantity and kinds of essential goods (rice, sugar, fish sauce, cooking oil, etc) needed for daily use.

The Department of Industry and Trade has been asked to work with the city's 24 districts and Thủ Đức City authorities to collect people’s opinions about whether the food should be free or paid for.

The city People’s Committee has proposed that the Ministry of National Defence and General Staff of the Việt Nam People's Army send 4,000 soldiers from the Military Region, 7,400 doctors and 1,600 medical staff, and 30 ambulances with drivers and emergency medical workers to help the city.

Senior Lieutenant General Lương said a military medical force has been mobilised to support the city.

More than 300 doctors and students from the Military Medical University in Hà Nội on Friday were sent to HCM City.

An additional 1,000 military medical workers from Hà Nội and northern provinces are expected to arrive from August 21-23. They will work with the city’s mobile clinics and community-based COVID-19 prevention teams to provide treatment and medical support to COVID-19 patients isolated at home.

They will also give COVID-19 tests and vaccinations, and deal with other emergency cases.

Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said at an online conference with city leaders on Friday that the city must focus on social welfare and safety for people during the strict social distancing period.

Đam asked the city and the ministries of National Defence, Public Security and Health to issue specific plans and tasks for forces on duty, all of whom must be tested and vaccinated.

The city on Friday announced it was tightening prevention measures from 12am on Monday (August 23) for 15 days with the aim of controlling the outbreak by September 15 under the Government's Resolution 86.

The city asked people to "stay where they are” at all times, and strictly follow safe distancing among individuals, families, residential areas and wards. 

HCM City issues movement curbs from Monday, calls for ‘tightening belts’

HCM City on Saturday issued rules for the heightened period of COVID-19 prevention and control starting Monday, as the authorities insisted the next two weeks are not a hard lockdown or an “state of emergency”.

The more stringent measures are in response to a rise in community-acquired COVID-19 cases in the southern city in recent days, despite several weeks of strict social distancing measures and it remains the country's COVID-19 epicentre with over 170,000 cases to date.

According to the document from HCM City People’s Committee on Saturday, between 6am Monday (August 23) and September 6, to effectively carry out the social distancing measures, households will be keeping a distance from other households, neighbourhoods from neighbourhoods, and wards, communes and townships from wards, communes and townships. 

All businesses and State agencies in HCM City would implement the ‘three on-site’ model (work, eat, and rest at workplaces), or ‘one route, two destinations’ model (basically meaning that workers would only travel between their homes or accommodation and the factory on a set route).

Up to a quarter of companies’ total staff are allowed to work, and must be present at the workplace before midnight Monday.

Shippers (for tech-based platforms) will no longer be allowed to operate in Thủ Đức City and districts 8, 12, Gò Vấp, Bình Tân, Bình Thạnh, Bình Chánh, Hóc Môn; while for the remaining districts, shippers can still operate, but only within that district and they cannot cross to another district.

Local authorities are asked to make arrangements so that each household in a green zone (COVID-19 free areas) or yellow zones only goes to buy food or essentials once a week, prepare up to two million ‘social welfare’ packages (comprising enough rice, vegetables, cooking oil and spice for one week) to give to the impoverished, and prepare nutritious meals to give to disadvantaged COVID-19 patients.

A special working team will be set up at each ward, commune and township classified as “high” and “very high” COVID-19 risks (under the management of the respective local people’s committees), whose members will buy food and essentials on behalf of the residents and deliver to the door, as well as work to guarantee social welfare of economically challenged people.

HCM City residents can check the status of their neighbourhood on the following pandemic map from the city's authorities: https://bando.tphcm.gov.vn/ogis/(English available).

According to the previous document from the city's authorities, only the following groups are allowed to go outside: people going out for vaccinations, those involved in activities to prevent COVID-19, supermarket staff, airport and airline crew (on assigned missions), essential service workers, staff providing meals for charity and quarantine areas, reporters and journalists, postal office workers, utility (power, water, telecom) workers and environment workers.

All will need their workplace-issued permits and identifiable uniforms (or other clothing issued by the city's authorities).

Testing and vaccinations

The city’s COVID-19 steering committee also asked for measures to control the outbreaks and reduce deaths to a minimum.

HCM City’s districts and Thủ Đức City will start to step up testing of residents in “red zones” with both rapid antigen tests and pooled samples.

Drivers of freight transport vehicles, the staff of supermarkets/markets and drug stores, utility company workers, petrol station attendants, environment workers, and those working at COVID-19 checkpoints must be tested for COVID-19 once every seven days.

400 mobile health stations (with oxygen tanks, SpO2 monitors, and quick test kits, etc.) will be set up at areas with many COVID-19 patients to help monitor and provide emergency care for positive cases under home treatment.

100,000 packages containing drugs for COVID-19 home treatment are being prepared.

Vaccination efforts will also be ramped up. As of Saturday, 5.28 million doses have been administered in HCM City, and 75 per cent of the city’s official population above 18 years old have received at least one jab. The city’s striving to have 90 per cent of all residents above 18 years old receiving at least one dose, and 15 per cent fully vaccinated by September 15.

Tightening belts

During Saturday afternoon’s press briefing on COVID-19 prevention and control, deputy head of the city’s COVID-19 steering committee Phạm Đức Hải urged people to remain calm, amid reports of people flocking to supermarkets on Friday to hoard up on food and essentials in fear of a hard lockdown and ban on all movements.

Hải said this situation would result in further spread of the virus and threaten social distancing results.

The official underlined that the next two weeks is not a hard lockdown or state of emergency as only the National Assembly Standing Committee (or the State President) can only declare such a situation.

The military and police units have been sent to aid the city’s COVID-19 fight since the beginning, but more enforcements from the State along with equipment, testing vehicles, and medicines are arriving, he said.

Hải also stated that social distancing orders have not been enforced strictly enough, evident by spike in infections, so the rules will be tightened.

Regarding the buying of food during the next two weeks, Hải said a list of 3,000 addresses have been sent to local authorities, and in case of shortage, special vehicles would be deployed to bring goods to the residents.

“The city has been trying to anticipate possible scenarios and relevant solutions, but the implementation would certainly run into unexpected shortcomings and issues, maybe the goods might be delivered late, the permission slips for going to the market not issued on time, so please call the coordination team to remedy [the shortcomings],” the city’s official said, adding that the people and the media could report problems to the city’s authorities for intervention.

Anyone struggling could call the city’s helpline at 1022 (then press 2).

He also wanted the city’s residents to exercise caution and be united in ‘tightening of belts’ for 14 days to contribute to the COVID-19 fight and overcome the outbreaks. 

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes