Vietnam logged 85 new COVID-19 cases, including 82 domestically-transmitted and three imported, in the past six hours to 6pm on May 31, the Ministry of Health announced.

Of the domestic infections, 43 were detected in Bac Giang – the country’s current largest pandemic hotspot, 34 in Bac Ninh, three in Binh Duong, one in Hanoi, and one in Tra Vinh.

The imported cases have been quarantined upon their arrival in Quang Nam and Tay Ninh provinces.

The new patients brought the total number of COVID-19 cases in Vietnam to 7,321, including 5,815 locally-transmitted infections, of which 4,245 were found since the fourth wave of outbreaks hit the country on April 27.

Also on May 31, 80 patients were given the all-clear from coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, bringing the total number of recoveries to 3,030, with the death toll related to the disease now stands at 47.

Among active patients undergoing treatment, 161 tested negative to the virus once, 91 twice and 79 thrice.

Amid complicated developments of the pandemic, the ministry advised people to follow the 5K message, including khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), and khai bao y te (health declaration), and vaccine./.

Illegal Chinese immigrants returned back to China

The Border Station of the Lao Cai International Border Gate and the Office of Immigration Management under the Department of Public Security of the northern province of Lao Cai on May 29 handed over 16 Chinese citizens to authorities of Hekou district in China’s Yunnan province.

The Chinese citizens, all males aging from 18-35 and coming from various localities of China, illegally entered Vietnam in late March and arrested by the border guards of the western province of Tay Ninh in early April.

On May 26, Lao Cai police and the Border Station of the Lao Cai International Border Gate also returned four illegal Chinese immigrants to the Chinese side for settlement.

Before being sent to China, they were tested negative to SARS-CoV-2./.

Hanoi police probe 1,300 dead newborns in freezer

According to police in Ha Dong District of Hanoi City, no criminal sign has been found in preservation of 1,300 dead newborns in freezer.

Through an investigation into some 1,300 dead newborns found in a rented house in the district, police revealed a group of young people have collected dead newborns abandoned at private clinics and hospitals in Hanoi for burial as a voluntary charity work.

However, environment watchdog will jump into probe of these corpses make bad impact on environment.
Ha Dong District Police are continuing investigation to make clear the case.

Covid-19 spread forces HCMC to delay grade-10 entrance exam

The HCMC government has approved a Department of Education and Training proposal to postpone the grade-10 entrance examination in the city until further notice.

The department made the proposal at an emergency meeting on Covid-19 pandemic prevention and control held today, May 30, as the disease is spreading fast in the city, the local media reported.

The exam in HCMC was originally scheduled to take place on June 2 and 3. The HCMC Department of Education and Training had told all officials, teachers, employees and students to make pre-exam daily health declarations.

As many as 2,500 officials, teachers and employees had been tested for Covid-19 before the start of the exam.

According to the municipal Department of Education and Training, more than 83,300 students had registered for the exam.

Deputy PM Dam asks for preventing pandemic from spreading to safe areas

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked authorities and relevant forces to work hard to prevent COVID-19 in lockdown areas in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang from spreading to safe areas or adjacent localities.

During an online meeting with leaders of the two provinces on May 30, Dam, who is also head of the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control, noted that they must focus on not only fighting the pandemic in industrial parks (IPs) and clusters but also restoring production outside IPs.

As Ho Chi Minh City is now applying social distancing measures, Dam asked the Transport Ministry to not arrange for flights carrying Vietnamese citizens from abroad land in the city for 14 days since the date the measures took effect.

Similarly, the capital city of Hanoi will not receive flights from abroad for a week.

During a working session with Bac Giang provincial authorities on May 30, Deputy PM Le Van Thanh asked the province to quickly submit reports on the local production and business situation, COVID-19 prevention and control work and related proposals to the Government.

He instructed the province to intensify pandemic countermeasures in IPs and boost the consumption of farm produce.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Anh Duong asked for support in both material and human resources to meet demand in testing and data entry work. He also appealed for help in tackling difficulties in selling lychee in the southern market./.

COVID-19: Vietnam records 61 new infections on early May 31

Vietnam reported 61 more locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases over the past 12 hours to 6:00 am on May 31, pushing the national count to 7168, according to the Ministry of Health.

Of the new infections, 43 were detected in Bac Giang, 15 in Hanoi and three in Lang Son.

As of 6:00 am on May 31, Vietnam documented a total of 5,665 domestic infections, with 4,095 cases since the latest outbreak hit the country on April 27.

Among active patients undergoing treatment at medical establishments nationwide, 145 tested negative to the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once, 66 twice and 70 thrice.

A report from the ministry’s Medical Examination Administration showed that the country has seen 2,950 recoveries and 47 deaths related to the disease.

There are 150,471 people who had close contact with confirmed patients or returned from pandemic-hit regions under quarantine nationwide

Amid complicated developments of the pandemic, the MoH advised citizens to follow the 5K message, including khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering), and khai bao y te (health declaration), and vaccine./.

Statue of General Vo Nguyen Giap in Truong Sa archipelago

On Son Ca Island in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago of Khanh Hoa province, nearly 1,000 nautical miles from the mainland, is a monument dedicated to General Vo Nguyen Giap, helping to educate young soldiers on the island about one of Vietnam’s greatest military strategists.

The park along the coast serves as a venue to educate the younger generation about Vietnam’s revolutionary traditions and acts as a meeting point for officers, soldiers, and residents on the island.

The highlight of the 400 square metre park is a statue of the famed General Vo Nguyen Giap. At 1.76 metres in height, it was completed in December 2015 by sculptor Le Dinh Bao.

The statue was carved from monolithic sandstone and majestically overlooks the East Sea, in the midst of Vietnam’s sacred islands.

Some 300 historic photos have been placed on a semi-circular ceramic wall that depict General Giap’s career and the Vietnam People’s Army, as well as well-known battles and victories in the resistance wars against French colonialists and American imperialists./.

Solutions sought to promote sustainable growth of Ly Son island

Experts have gathered in a conference to discuss measures to connect resources to promote the sustainable development of Ly Son island in the central province of Quang Ngai.

Tran Huu Vy, Director of the GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Centre, said that Ly Son is an outpost island with beautiful natural landscapes thanks to the perfect combination of mountain and sea.

The island has strong potential in sea-based economic development, said Vy, stressing the need for the island to growth in the direction of sustainability with ensured livelihood for local residents, preserved cultural identity, suitable use of natural resources and protected environment.

Mentioning the promotion of marine biodiversity in the island, Dr. Nguyen Van Long from the Institute of Oceanography under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology held that in recent years, the strong and unplanned growth of a number of economic sectors have harmed the ecology balance, natural landscape and the living environment of many aquatic species.

The over-exploitation of coral sand and aquatic farming activities, along with the plastic pollution are among reasons behind the problem, he said, adding that waterway traffic works and the formation of fishing vessel wharfs have also caused difficulties in managing and handling maritime violations.

He stressed the need to continue strengthening communications to raise public awareness of environmental protecting, while seeking ways to improve locals’ livelihood, increasing patrol to handle violations to maritime reservation and promoting financial solutions.

Meanwhile, Bui Thi Thu Hien from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Vietnam said that in the near future, the engagement of businesses in operating small-scaled natural reserves can be key to successfully protect the ecosystems of forest, coral reef, sea grass, and mangrove forest.

At the event, the business circle, scientists and managers discussed a number of issues related to the ensuring of balance between economic development and natural reservation, as well as the support to enterprises in investing in the field as well as the ensuring of legal responsibility of State agencies and businesses.

Experts also gave recommendations and effective measures for the sustainable development of Ly Son island, including the enhancing of the efficiency of management and use of software in biodiversity and natural resources preservation, the adjustments of planning, as well as the establishment and operation of aquatic varieties reservation areas, the combination of conservation and eco-tourism, and the development of environmentally-friendly recovery models./.

Vietnamese biodiversity, traditional medicine introduced in Italy

An exhibition on biodiversity in Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve and Vietnamese traditional medicine was held in Italy’s Abano Terme city of Padova province on May 29.

The event, held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy in coordination with the administration of Abano Terme city and the Italy-Vietnam Friendship Association in Veneto region, drew the attendance of Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Thi Bich Hue, representatives from various trade-industry associations and research centres.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Hue said that Vietnam and Italy are now important partners of each other in the fields of politics, economy, defence, culture, tourism, education-training and science-technology.

She said that the Italy-Vietnam Friendship Association in Veneto region is a key factor that has contributed to the enhancement of bilateral solidarity and cooperation.

Within the framework of the Action Plan to realise the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership in the 2021-2022 period with a vision to 2030, many specific programmes and projects will be jointly implemented in the future, she noted.

Meanwhile, Renato Darsie, a representative from the Italy-Vietnam Friendship Association in Veneto region said that the exhibition is an initiative of the association with the aim of introducing and promoting the image of Vietnam to Italian people.

The event was also expected to raise public awareness in Italy of protection and sustainable use of natural resources, he said.

Through the exhibition, the diverse animal and plant species inhabited in the Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve were introduced, including many rare species in need of protection.

The event will run until June 1.

Earlier, Hue had a working session with Alessandro Nardo who is in charge of international affairs of the Veneto industry association, and Mayor of Abano Terme Federico Barbierato to seek measures to accelerate trade collaboration between Italian and Vietnamese localities.

The ambassador and the mayor also kicked start the AbanoZen exhibition series on health to resume tourism activities in the city.

Owning natural hot springs, Abano Terme is a well-known tourism site in Italy. The 20,000-strong city welcomes more than 2 million visitors a year, making tourism its spearhead sector./.

High school career-guidance programmes offer students practical advice

High schools in Ho Chi Minh City are offering more career guidance programmes to foster students’ awareness about career choices and study plans.

Bui Thi Xuan High School in the city’s district 1, for instance, earlier this month carried out a programme with businesses and career counselling specialists who shared information about the labour market.

Nguyen Duy Tam, deputy rector of the school, said the programme aimed to provide students with advice on choosing the career they desire.

In March, Nguyen Du High School in district 10 carried out a programme themed “Experience One Day as a Teacher” to help students understand the work and activities that teachers perform in a classroom setting.

The event attracted 197 students from all grades at the school.

Huynh Thanh Phu, rector of the school, said that students can learn about their core strengths and weaknesses in particular work environments. Many students became more confident about pursuing tertiary study at universities of education.

A Au Vocational Guidance School in HCM City offers the AAu Experience that includes on-site visits to school facilities and participation in demonstration classes as well as Q&A sessions with the school’s lecturers to give students and parents an insight into prospective careers.

The programme has over the past years met the demand for career orientation at secondary schools, high schools, tertiary establishments, and social support establishments.

A representative at the A Au Vocational Guidance School said that updated information on the labour market should be part of career orientation programmes.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many apps and software on career orientation have been launched.

Le Thi Thanh Mai, head of the enrolment department at Vietnam National University-HCM City, said that online channels offer useful information on career counselling and guidance for students and parents.

Career education is expected to be part of the educational curriculum at all secondary and high schools by 2025 as part of the Government-approved project on career education for high school students for the 2018-2025 period./.

Vietnam affirms responsible contributions to climate change response

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit on May 31, at the invitation of President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in.

Vietnam will attend the event as one of the seven founding members of P4G from July 7, 2017. Vietnam has taken various actions to show its determination and wish to work with other member countries to realise the global green goals in 2030.

On September 2017, Vietnam attended a ceremony to announce the P4G forum in New York as an official partner. On July 5, 2018, Vietnam announced the formation of its National P4G Forum.

From October 19-20, 2018, Vietnam attended the first P4G Summit, during which the Vietnamese Prime Minister underlined that policy-makers and the business community should share information and give policy recommendations and financial mechanisms to promote potential projects on green growth.

Along with the participation in P4G, over the years, Vietnam has actively contributed to joint efforts of the international community in responding to climate change and speeding up green recovery.

Vietnam has engaged in multilateral mechanisms on climate, while integrating climate change issues into its official documents. On April 22, 2021, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the virtual Leaders
Summit on Climate chaired by US President Joe Biden, where he affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to take drastic actions to comprehensively respond to climate change.

On March 25, 2021, the Vietnamese PM approved a project to develop climate-resilient urban areas in Vietnam in the 2021-2030 period.

Vietnam’s participation in the P4G Summit continues to affirm the country’s responsible contributions to sustainable development, green growth and response to climate change.

Through the event, Vietnam hopes to promote international cooperation in prioritised issues of the country, including sustainable development, investment, trade, environment, renewable energy, realisation of sustainable development goals, and response to climate change in the Mekong Delta region. Vietnam also wants to continue to accelerate the strategic partnership with the Republic of Korea.

The P4G was formed in 2017 as an initiative of Denmark. So far, it has 12 members and the engagement of more than 90 countries, international organisations as well as businesses across the globe.

P4G is a global platform pioneering green partnerships and providing market-based solutions in developing countries. It mobilises a global ecosystem consisted of countries, organisations, corporations and civil societies committed to make a progress in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.

P4G directly contributes to the development of national climate agendas, global campaigns, and coalitions with a focus on finding market-based solutions, mobilising the private sector and institutional finance to deliver sustainable economic growth.

As a steppingstone to COP26, the P4G Summit will provide a momentous opportunity for participating countries to raise their ambitions, share cutting-edge solutions and build ideas that can bring the net zero vision closer to realization.

The P4G Summit 2021 is considered an important event as climate change response and green recovery has become a top priority of many countries. It is expected to promote determination and commitments of the international community and prepare for the COP 26 which is slated for November this year.

So far, leaders of more than 40 countries and 21 international organisations have confirmed their attendance at the summit.

P4G aims to deliver solutions and impacts in five thematic areas: Water, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Circular Economy and Cities.

This year, under the theme "Inclusive Green Recovery Towards Carbon Neutrality”, the summit will be held in the form of videoconference./.

Vietnamese players tested for COVID-19 before friendly match with Jordan

Real-time PRC tests for COVID-19 were conducted on all members of the national men’s football teams of Vietnam and Jordan on May 29 in preparation for their friendly match two days later in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This is a mandatory regulation of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for all national teams before any match during the process of training to prepare for matches of the upcoming qualifiers of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

If any case that tested positive for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, he will be quarantined for 10 days at a health facility of the host country. Those tested negative to the virus will continue to participate in their team’s activities.

At 11pm on May 29 (Vietnam time), coach Park Hang-seo and the Vietnamese team’s members conducted their third training session in the UAE.

All 45 members of the Vietnamese delegation received their first shot of COVID-19 vaccine on April 19-20 and got their second shots in mid-May.

In the upcoming matches in Group G of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Vietnam will take on Indonesia on June 7 and Malaysia four days later, and then wrap up the qualifying round with a game against hosts the UAE on June 15.

Vietnam currently tops the group with 11 points, followed by Malaysia with nine and Thailand with eight. The UAE has six points, while Indonesia is yet to pick up any./.

Local social network Gapo launches working platform for businesses

After launching its local social network, Gapo Technology JSC has launched a free internal working and communication platform for businesses named GapoWork.

The platform aims to help teams in remote work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ha Trung Kien, CEO of Gapo, said: “We developed a 'Make in Vietnam' platform to solve many problems of businesses. GapoWork, as an internal social network, will help completely change the working environment and the way members communicate in the organisation, building a strong and inspiring corporate culture."

Gapo’s representative also aimed to reach out to the international market with the product.

According to the firm, GapoWork provides essential features for delivering a uniform, accurate, and rapid work flow on a single platform. At the same time, internal information will be secure thanks to the conversation encryption feature.

The firm's representative said: “People who have to work remotely due to the pandemic will not feel lonely because they are present on the online space together, still interact, share and learn with colleagues.”

The firm's representative said besides the free version launched in May, GapoWork will develop an advanced version with special features, including integration of apps like Zoom, Office 365, Google Suite, Trello; optimisations for the group model; creation of meetings; reviews for employees; as well as statistics and charts to serve enterprises.

In July 2019, Gapo Technology JSC officially launched Gapo Social Network, with phase 1 investment of 22 million USD from G-Capital fund. Gapo currently has over 6 million users./.

Party official applauds HCM City’s efforts in settling corruption cases

Politburo member and Secretary of the Party Central Committee Phan Dinh Trac hailed Ho Chi Minh City’s efforts in settling corruption cases and their consequences while working with the permanent members of the municipal Party Committee on anti-corruption work on May 29.

Trac, who is also Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs and Standing Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control, asked municipal authorities to promptly revoke 1.13 billion USD appropriated in Thu Thien urban area project and use the sum to invest in the new urban area.

Covering 657ha, the Thu Thiem new urban area is located on Thu Thiem Peninsula in HCM City’s District 2, which faces downtown district 1 across the Sai Gon River.

According to the Government Inspectorate, the city's administration illegally took the land of nearly 200 households who lived on a 4.3ha area outside the originally planned Thu Thiem new urban area. The households have received compensation in exchange for their land.

At the working session, Trac also asked the city to speed up investigations and settlement of other corruption cases at the request of the Government Inspectorate, including the case at the Vietnam Southern Food Corporation, the Saigon Agriculture Corporation (SAGRI), and the Saigon Real Estate Corporation (RESCO).

During the investigations of the cases, if there are any violations related to officials under the management of the Politburo or Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, the city should report and hand over relevant information and documents to the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission for settlement in line with the Party's regulations, he stressed./.

PM asks for application of “5K plus vaccine and technology” in COVID-19 fight

Vietnam must apply the principle of "5K plus vaccine and technology" in preventing and controlling COVID-19 to ensure that the pandemic is curbed early and remotely, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The Government leader made the suggestion at a national teleconference on the COVID-19 situation and urgent solutions to contain the spread of the pandemic on May 29.

He emphasised the necessity to fight the pandemic with the spirit of “fighting the pandemic is like fighting the enemy”, protect people's health, ensure the maintenance of goods production chains and circulation, thus realising the dual goal of COVID-19 containment and socio-economic development.

The PM also asked for the combination of both prevention and attack measures in the fight against the pandemic.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long affirmed that accessing sources of COVID-19 vaccines is one of the priorities of not only Vietnam but also many countries around the world.

Vietnam aims to access COVID-19 vaccine as quickly as possible and ensure the widest vaccination coverage, he said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said that it is developing a plan to settle social insurance policy for employees who have to undergo medical quarantine serving the COVID-19 prevention and control under the sickness policy.

Accordingly, quarantined labourers will be entitled a subsidy equivalent to 75 percent of their salaries which are used to pay social insurance premiums./.

Tra Vinh: Shrimp-breeding in mangroves protects forest coverage, offers stable income

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh is encouraging farmers to breed shrimp in mangrove forests as the practice offers sustainable incomes and helps to maintain the province's forest coverage.

With a coastline of 65 kilometres, the province has advantages for aquaculture development, but climate change and changes in the aquaculture environment have caused risks of disease.

To adapt to climate change, the province has shifted to other methods, including the shrimp – forest farming model, which is mostly implemented in the coastal districts of Cau Ngang, Chau Thanh and Tra Cu, and Duyen Hai township.

Under the model, shrimp bred under extensive farming methods eat mostly natural food in the mangrove forest. The shrimp is 'clean' and is popular with consumers.

The variety that is mostly bred is black tiger shrimp, one of the country’s key shrimp exports.

Farmer Pham Thai Binh in Duyen Hai district’s Long Vinh commune has bred shrimp in a 3ha mangrove forest for nearly 20 years and earns an average profit of about 100 million VND (4,300 USD) a year.

The profit is not as high as that from breeding shrimp under industrial farming, but it is stable.

“The shrimp – forest farming model is a sustainable livelihood as it reduces the risk of shrimp disease,” he said.

Binh breeds about 200,000 shrimp a year and staggers the release of shrimp fry into ponds in the forests four times a year in the dry season to avoid an oversupply in the main harvest season. As a result, the shrimp sells at high prices.

In the rainy season when the salinity of water fluctuates and shrimp are easily affected by disease, Bình breeds crabs in the mangrove forest.

Duyen Hai district’s authorities have encouraged farmers with modest finances who breed shrimp under intensive or super - intensive farming models to switch to shrimp – forest farming.

Duyen Hai has more than 8,500ha of shrimp, according to the district’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The shrimp – forest farming model accounts for nearly 60 percent of the district’s shrimp farming areas.

Tran Kien Chuc, Chairman of the Dong Hai Commune People’s Committee in Duyen Hai, said that most farmers who breed shrimp in mangrove forests have stable incomes.

The shrimp - forest farming model offers a profit of 100 – 200 million VND (4,300 – 8,600 USD) per hectare a year.

The province’s Agriculture Extension Centre last year supported 22 shrimp breeding households in Duyen Hai’s Dong Vinh and Long Vinh communes on a total breeding area of 36ha.

The households were provided 12 million VND (520 USD) per hectare for production costs, including 50 percent of the cost to buy black tiger shrimp fry, 50 percent of the cost to buy water - quality measuring tools, and a part of the cost to buy food and other material inputs.

They were also trained in advanced farming techniques, which help reduce production costs.

The supported households had an average yield of 700 kilogrammes of black tiger shrimp after breeding for three months and an average profit of 74 million VND (3,200 USD) per hectare.

Huynh Hoang An, in Long Vinh commune, said he received support to breed shrimp in a 2.5ha cajuput forest.

The costs to feed the shrimp are not high because they eat mostly natural food. “Shrimp bred under the model grow well and have few diseases,” he said.

An has expanded his shrimp – forest farming area to 7ha.

Nguyen Van Phung, deputy director of the centre, said the shrimp – forest farming model has adapted to climate change well.

The province has encouraged farmers to expand as it offers sustainable profits and keeps forests protected.

The province has more than 9,000ha of forests, mostly mangrove forests, with a forest coverage rate of 3.63 percent.

Of the province’s total forests, more than 4,000ha were planted by local households who breed shrimp in the forests, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The province plans to grow more new forests, aiming to increase its total forest area to 10,000ha by 2025./.

Hà Nội focuses on food safety as summer nears 

Hà Nội's hot and humid summer weather is an ideal environment for bacteria and viruses to thrive on farms, increasing the risk of food poisoning.

In the capital, controlling the quality of agricultural products and food in the market is the responsibility of many sectors and localities, including the agricultural sector.

To play its part, the city’s agricultural sector has strengthened the supervision of food quality and safety, focusing on providing fresh products for daily consumption.

Last year, units under the Hà Nội Agriculture and Rural Development Department inspected and took more than 6,000 samples of agricultural, forestry and fishery products, 335 of which did not meet food safety standard, and destroyed 25 tonnes of unsafe products.

According to Nguyễn Thị Thu Hằng, director of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Control Department, Hà Nội has implemented many programmes and projects to support agricultural production development, building a safe farm product supply chain and ensuring food quality.

The city has formed specialised agricultural production areas focusing on ensuring food safety including more than 5,000 hectares of safe vegetables, more than 1,300ha of fruits and teas, 181ha of aquaculture and 88 animal breeding facilities according to VietGAP standards, Hằng said.

In addition, Hà Nội has nearly 40 hectares of organic farming and 164 high-tech agricultural models and built 141 food safety chains under the "farm to table" method and has nearly 9,5000 agricultural products participating in the traceability system, she said.

Meanwhile, according to deputy director of the Hà Nội Agriculture and Rural Development Department Tạ Văn Trường, to control the quality of agricultural products and foods, it must be supervised at all stages from production to consumption.

Hà Nội has been implementing synchronous solutions to promote production, connect consumption of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and develop safe food production areas, Trường said.

By the end of this year, the city would aim to increase the number of safe agricultural, forestry and fishery product chains by 20 per cent, he said.

Agencies of the agriculture sector will also strengthen inspections of production and business establishments as well as strictly handle violations of regulations on food safety.

The city’s agriculture sector will also work with local authorities to implement solutions to reduce the slaughter of livestock and poultry farms which do not meet veterinary hygiene standards and focus on improving the efficiency of management of the production, trade and use of plant protection chemicals, veterinary drugs, fertilisers and animal feeds.

The sector will continue to develop a traceability system for agricultural, forestry, fishery products and food at hn.check.net.vn and strengthen the management and development of e-commerce markets to consume safe agricultural, forestry and aquatic products.

In addition, to promote information on food safety, the sector works with social organisations to encourage people to produce and trade safe agricultural products.

Flowers and ornamental plants are key agriculture products of Hà Nội

Flowers and ornamental plants not only protect the ecological environment but also help increase people's incomes, speed up the development of new style rural areas and urban development in Hà Nội.

For the last ten years, under the new style rural area building programme, Hà Nội’s rural look has changed remarkably with improved infrastructure for both production and people’s daily life.

The incomes of people living in rural areas have also increased.

Particularly, in many rural areas across the city, the environmental landscape has been significantly improved with flower beds, tree-lined streets and murals, which help make the countryside more attractive and create tourism destinations for people to visit and enjoy.

In order to develop the rural economy, besides developing crops and livestock to serve the daily needs of people, Hà Nội also gave priority to flowers and ornamental plants as key agriculture products.

The city also paid more attention to boosting the linkage between production and consumption, offering support policies.

 As a result, flowers and ornamental plant growing areas in Hà Nội increased sharply from 5,484ha in 2015 to 7,960ha in 2020.

It has recognised 11 traditional craft villages of flowers and ornamental plants including the Cơ Giáo village; Xâm Xuyên village and Nội Thôn village in Thường Tín District; Hạ Lôi, Liễu Trì, Đại Bái villages in Mê Linh District; Phù Đổng village in Gia Lâm District, Tây Tựu flower village in Bắc Từ Liêm District, kumquat growing village in Tám Xá Commune of Đông Anh District, Nhật Tân flower village and Tứ Liên kumquat village in Tây Hồ District.

Until now, 70 per cent of flower and ornamental plant growing areas in Hà Nội are in districts of Bắc Từ Liêm, Mê Linh, Tây Hồ, Đan Phượng and Thường Tín.

With improved quality of seeds, farming technique and advanced technologies for water, light and temperature, growers could earn on average VNĐ0.5-1.5 billion per hectare per year. Many farming models could generate VNĐ1.3-2.2 billion per hectare per year.

Nguyễn Văn Chí, head of Hà Nội Rural Development Division, said that under the city’s programme to increase the effectiveness of the new style rural area building programme and agricultural restructuring in the 2021-2025 period, the total areas for flowers and ornamental plants are expected to increase by 8,500-9,000ha.

The city also planned to plant more trees along streets and roads to ensure 8-10sq.m of green space for each person.

Chí said that flower and ornamental plant growing villages would also offer farming tourism experiences.

Chí added that in the future, the city would work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other localities to review and introduce support policies for flowers and ornamental plants.

People visit a store that displays craft and farming products in Hồng Vân Commune. The commune is aiming to become a tourist attraction in the city. — Photo courtesy of Hà Nội’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
The city asked relevant agencies and districts to make plans and arrange resources to boost its flower and ornamental plants industry.

“Flowers and ornamental plants would be key products to boost local economic development, improve the environment and speed up the implementation of the new style rural area building programme,” Chí said.

Flower and ornamental plants growers’ associations are called on to coordinate with State management agencies to evaluate the price of ornamental flowers, develop planting area codes, origin traceability, and establish a digital map of ornamental flowers which would help increase information transparency, Government management and supervision.

Associations, branches and artisans recommend local State management units in the development strategy of the flower and ornamental plant industry; materials for vocational training and encourage good artisans and managers to offer training as well as share experiences.

VssID helps discover frauds, protect workers at risks of losing unemployment benefits

The application of information services on the mobile platform VssID of Việt Nam Social Security is proving to be a good tool for protecting employees and insurers since it was launched in December 2020.

A recent case revealed how a patient, Nguyễn Thị Huyền, used the application on her mobile phone to discover a fraud had been committed in her name via a healthcare services provider. 

Huyền had visited a doctor as the record confirmed, but she did not receive any services. Despite this, the amount of VNĐ104,900 was incorrectly claimed from the Thanh Hóa Provincial Social Security Office.

Thankfully the VssID application identified this as a mistake, proving the importance of strict monitoring procedures to avoid avoidable abuse, evasion and fraud.

Relating to pension, unemployment and such similar schemes, VssID tools could also contribute greatly to protecting members, particularly those who are at risk of unemployment due to COVID-19 pandemic.

Twenty employees in Đồng Tháp Province, after installing VssID on their phones, found that their social security contributions had not been paid to the Đồng Tháp Provincial Social Security Office, meaning they did not qualified for unemployment benefits.

They lately discovered that the employer held their collected contribution but had not paid to the fund holder. Checking the work records of enrollees, Đồng Tháp Provincial Social Security Office found out that not only 20 workers of this company had been left out of pocket, but a further 73 others also missed out on payments.

One of the 73 ignorant employees said: “Thanks to VssID and all the efforts of the 20 claimant employees, we were able to take back all our contributions which we almost lost."

This is critical both in terms of cumulative years of work and qualification for unemployment benefits, especially because of the high risk of unemployment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company in question completely complied with the decision made by the Đồng Tháp Provincial Social Security Office to pay back VNĐ2.078 billion for all contributions that were on hold at the company so that their 20 employees would be entitled to unemployment benefits.

Having VSssID on a mobile-phone or other platforms is a very helpful tool for the employee and insurer to chase and monitor employees’ work records, health care services and improve intermobility and transactions between all parties, helping stakeholders protect and assure the service quality provided to the members. 

Silkworms help Yên Bái farmers escape poverty

Life in Trấn Yên District in the northern province of Yên Bái has greatly improved thanks to the development of silkworm farming in recent years.

Trấn Yên District has nearly 800 hectares of land with nearly 2,000 households devoted to mulberries and silkworms, which have become their main source of income.

According to Triệu Thị Bích Liệu, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the district, Yên Bái Province has supported and encouraged villagers to plant new varieties of mulberry and raise new kind of silkworms for higher yield and quality than old varieties to develop the craft sustainably.

At the same time, silkworm raisers have also been helped to use better mulberry farming techniques, including raising silkworms on the ground to reduce investment costs.

Additionally, local farmers have been encouraged to convert unprofitable rice fields and crops along the Red River to mulberries and silkworms, she added.

Many households in Trấn Yên District have not only escaped poverty but even become well-off thanks to the stable income earned from the cultivation of mulberry and raising silkworms in recent years, like Nguyễn Đức Mạnh's family.

“My wife and I used to work as labourers and switched to mulberry and silkworms farming in 2020. With the current selling price of a cocoon at VNĐ110,000 (US$5) per kilo, each year, we earn about VNĐ80 million ($3,500) from the job only from the second to the 10th lunar months,” Mạnh said.

“So in total, we could earn from VNĐ100-120 million ($4,300-5,100) per year from cultivating mulberries and raising silkworms, much higher than working as a labourer”.

Last year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, raising silkworms earned the villagers nearly $3.5 million.

Trấn Yên’s poverty rate has fallen to 4 per cent and per capita income grew to more than $1,700 last year, making the district the first new-style rural district in the northwestern region.

According to local authorities, the district will continue to expand the area dedicated to mulberry cultivation and silkworm raising, consolidate the co-operatives to act as a cocoon purchasing point for villagers and support farmers with better quality varieties of silkworms.

In particular, the district has focused on creating favourable conditions to attract enterprises investing in silk and heighten the value of local mulberry products. 

VTVGo to present ‘Week of Vietnamese Animations'

A collection of 50 Vietnamese cartoon movies will be presented by the national broadcaster to mark International Children’s Day (June 1).

The movies will be screened from June 1 to 10 during 'The Week of Vietnamese Animations' on VTVGo – Việt Nam Television's online streaming service.

The event is organised by the Vietnam Association of Film Promotion and Development (VFDA) and VTV’s Digital Content Development and Production Centre (VTV Digital) in collaboration with the Vietnam Animation JSC Company.

According to the organisers, alongside offering young audiences interesting movies, the event also encourages the creativity of local cartoon filmmakers. This is also an opportunity for co-operation between animators and VTV, aiming to bring the audience a chance to enjoy Vietnamese cartoon movies frequently.

Chairwoman of the Vietnam Animation JSC Company’s management board Trần Thị Thu Hiền said her company has selected a diverse range of movies on different topics such as fairy tales, legends and history.

Movies about the environment (Chiếc Xe Đạp Bay or The Flying Bicycle and Quái Vật Rừng Xanh or The Jungle’s Monster), family (Bố Của Gà Con or The Chick’s Father and Vầng Sáng Ấm Áp or The Warm Halos), modern life (Sắc Màu Những Ô Cửa or The Colours of Windows), and soft skills (Người Hùng or The Heroes) will also be presented.

A scene from the animation Hành Tinh Hoa Quả (The Planet of Fruits). Photo courtesy of Vietnam Animation JSC Company
“The collection also includes 2D, 3D, paper cut-out animated, the short 10-minute, the long 20- 30-minute films, and series. All are newly produced films featuring bright colours, vivid characters, and joyful music, which have been acclaimed by both audiences and specialists,” Hiền said.  

There will also be a series of documentaries providing viewers with a behind-the-scenes look at the films.

The films will be broadcast daily at 10am and 8pm.

Before 'The Week of Vietnamese Animations', VTVGo presented 'The Week of Tết Movies', and 'The Week of Movies Adapted from Novels'. 

Online contest to introduce books launched

Bookworms in Việt Nam have been invited to participate in a virtual contest to introduce their favourite books that have made a positive impact on them.

The 2021 online book introduction contest, themed The Book I Love, is targeted at readers above six years old who are studying, working and living in Việt Nam.

The contestants will create videos to introduce and share their feelings about the books that have influenced them positively.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the contest will receive entries from July 1 to 26.

The introductions will be presented in Vietnamese and might include English subtitles if possible.

Only books published in Việt Nam that have not violated the provisions of law can be presented.

The contents of the videos must suit Việt Nam’s traditions and culture, not contain false information, not violate copyright or affect information security and other laws.

Each video should be at least five minutes and not exceed 10 minutes, and be saved in popular formats like mp4, avi, mpeg, mkv or klv.

Each contestant can submit one or more video to the contest. Videos that have entered the contest in the previous round will not be eligible in the next round.

Additionally, the videos must not have been uploaded to any website or entered into any other contest.

Entries should be sent to either sachvatritueviet.vtv@gmail.com or the Library Department, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, located on 51 Ngô Quyền Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hà Nội.

Entries can be sent from 10am on September 6 to 10am on September 20. The voting will be made public and serve as the basis for the organising committee to evaluate and rank the prizes.

Entries are scored through online voting for views, likes and shares on the YouTube channel Sách và Trí tuệ Việt (Vietnamese Books and Wisdom).

The results of the contest will be announced on the YouTube channel and the awarding ceremony is expected to be held in Hà Nội in November.

The organisers plan to award one Special prize, three First prizes, six Second prizes, 10 Third prizes, and 20 Consolation prizes for quality video clips.

In addition, the winners will be presented with books and other gifts.

According to its organising committee, the Online Book Introduction Contest 2021 will inspire reading passion among Vietnamese people. 

Contest seeks quality scripts for animated films

The Cinema Department, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has organised a new contest to search for quality 90-minute animated film scripts. 

The film length is enough to be shown in theatres, according to Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper.

While the global animation industry is making great strides with multiple blockbusters, the local market, after 60 years of formation and development, is still producing films for children or young audiences.

Since this genre is typically associated with children, local animation filmmakers find it difficult to “cross the line” and make it appealing to older audiences.

Recently, several private units and independent filmmakers started producing animated movies, but they are relatively small in scale.

Meanwhile, the Việt Nam Animation Studio has received about 100 scripts but all are short-film scripts. 

Demand for long, quality animated movie scripts exists, yet little has been done to actually make them, experts have said.

Filmmakers familiar with this genre said that animated movies cost a lot of money and require many staff. 

"Awkward" language, poor coordination among team members, and, most importantly, a lack of push to create a transformation of the profession has made it difficult to realise animation filmmakers’ dreams.

A script contest will hardly fill in the big gap of the animated movie production scene in Việt Nam, an expert from the Cinema Department noted. It will create a push that helps filmmakers become aware of the professional potential of the market, he added.

The contest has started from May 17 to August 31, 2021 and its award ceremony will take place in December.

The highest prize for a documentary script is VNĐ40 million (US$1,700) and an animated movie script VNĐ50 million (US$2,100).

Bank accounts to accept donations for COVID-19 vaccine fund announced

The Ministry of Finance has announced the accounts of the COVID-19 vaccine fund at the State Treasury of Vietnam and a commercial bank in order to accept voluntary donations from organisations and individuals both at home and abroad.

Specifically, domestic donors can give their assistances through the account numbers 3761.0.9098866.91999 (VND), 3761.0.9098869.91999 (USD) and 3761.0.9098786.91999 (EUR) at the State Treasury, and 21110009116868 (VND), 21110371116868 (USD) and 21110142996868 (EUR) at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam JSC (BIDV), Hanoi branch. The accounts are under the name “Quy vaccine phong Covid-19” (Anti-COVID-19 vaccine fund).

Donations from overseas to the fund will be accepted through the account numbers 21110009116868 (VND), 21110371116868 (USD) and 21110142996868 (EUR) at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam JSC, Hanoi branch - 4B Le Thanh Tong Street, Phan Chu Trinh Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City, Vietnam. The account name is “Fund for Vaccination Prevention of Coronavirus Disease 2019”, with swift code BIDVVNVX.

The Ministry of Finance has affirmed that all the cash donations from organisations and individuals will be fully and promptly gathered to the COVID-19 vaccine fund, and used in a proper, public and transparent manner in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Earlier, the Ministry of Finance issued Decision No. 1062/QD-BTC on setting up a management board for the COVID-19 vaccine fund in order to implement the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 779/QD-TTg dated May 26, 2021, on the establishment of a COVID-19 vaccine fund.

* The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the National Fund for Vietnamese Children have decided to offer a daily meal allowance of VND80,000 (sourced from the fund) within 21 days for each of the children who are F0 and F1 cases and are being put under quarantine. This offer is effective between April 27 and December 31, 2021.

* Over the past week, the Vietnam Stage Artists Association has mobilised VND351.7 million (US$15,282), essentials, and anti-epidemic supplies, to support pandemic relief efforts in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Bac Giang – the two current COVID-19 hotbeds in the country.

For a tobacco-free life for Vietnamese children

An online contest on the theme of "For a tobacco-free life for Vietnamese children" has been launched on Facebook in response to World No-Tobacco Day (May 31) and National No-Tobacco Week (lasting from May 25 to 31).

The event is hosted by the Vietnam Non-communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Alliance (NCDs-VN) in coordination with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK) and Y hoc Cong dong (Community-based Medicine Organisation) in order to create a movement to build scientific, quality and effective communication products, thereby spreading the warning message about the serious harms of tobacco and new generation tobacco, as well as promoting the community's voice to protect young people from these harmful tobacco products.

Accordingly, the contest is seeking stories from individuals, families and communities to spread the message about preventing the harmful effects of tobacco, especially new types of tobacco, and promoting community initiatives to protect children and young people from such harmful risks.

Entries must be posted on personal Facebook pages in public mode with hashtags #WorldNoTobaccoDay and #NCDVN, with the post links sent to the Organising Committee via email address van.nguyen@rtccd.org.vn.

The contest is launched online from May 25 to June 10, with winners to be announced on June 17.

12 prizes will be awarded, with a total value of VND24 million, including one first prize worth VND5 million, two second prizes worth VND3 million each and three third prizes worth VND2 million VND each.

HCDC Director warns F2 turns into F0, Covid-19 cases continue rising

Director of the Center for Disease Control in Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Tri Dung said that Covid-19 cases linking to the religious mission will continue rising because some people have not declared their travel history while some contacts F2 turned into F0 (infected people). 

He added that from May 27, the city has witnessed 147 cases of Covid-19 relating to the religious mission.

Yesterday evening, the Center for Disease Control confirmed a person in District 3 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 who is a contact F2 relating to the religious mission. The F2 contact is working at a building at 65 Nguyen Du Street in District 1.

She is living with her parents in an alley in Dien Bien Phu Street. Functional forces immediately arrived at her house and began investigating her travel history; however, they bumped into difficulties because the woman has not provided detailed information.

The contact was later brought to the makeshift hospital in Cu Chi for further treatment. Thirty people who had contacted her were tested. Additionally, functional forces extended tracing by collecting samples of her neighbors in the alley as well as disinfected and sealed off the area temporarily.

Prior, the Center for Disease Control had recorded four Covid-19 suspected cases in Go Vap District’s wards 5 who are contact F2 of a person in the religious mission; therefore, Go Vap District continued collecting samples of residents in wards 3, 5, 9, and 15 to curb the spread of the disease.

The health sector called for those relating to the religious mission to voluntarily declare their health status because the risk of Covid-19 transmission relating to the mission is quite high.

Vietnamese Health Ministry recalls drug for failing to meet requirement

The Drug Administration under Vietnamese Ministry of Health decided to remove an over-the-counter drug from the market for the medicine failed to meet the requirement of volume.

Yesterday, the Administration sent a document to the departments of Health across the country on the nationwide recall of Atisalbu oral solution (Salbutamol 2mg/5ml), with lot number 9509 and expiry date November 22, 2021 produced by An Thien Pharmaceutical Company, because the drug failed meet the volume standard.

Accordingly, the Drug Administration of Vietnam required An Thien Pharmaceutical Company to recall the medicine from wholesale and retail drugstores. An Thien Pharmaceutical Company must report recall result to the Drug Administration of Vietnam.

In addition, the departments of Health should notify all pharmacies to recall the batch of drugs that fail to meet the above-mentioned quality. Establishments which don’t follow the direction will receive punishment according to current regulations.

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