• The 15th National Assembly began the question-and-answer session as part of its second sitting on November 10.

  The hearing, also the first of its kind held by the 15th legislature, is set to last for two and a half days, focusing on matters regarding health care; labour, invalids and social affairs; education and training; and planning and investment.

  Ministers, heads of agencies and Deputy Prime Ministers will appear at the session to clear up legislators’ concerns. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will also give further explanations and answer queries to be raised by deputies.

  Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long will be the first to be grilled by lawmakers, followed by Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung.

  In his opening remarks at the Q&A session, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue highlighted the importance of the session to the success of the second meeting, as well as the next hearings.

• Deputies should select one or several issues of their most concern to raise at the session, he said, adding that each of them has only one minute to present questions while ministers have three minutes to clarify a matter, as stipulated in the law on supervisory activities of the NA and rules of the meeting.

  At the end of the session that is broadcast live, the NA will issue a resolution on Q&A activities./.

• Adrift Filipino fishermen saved by Vietnamese authority and islanders

• A Filipino fisherman was saved by a ship of the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance (VFRS) on November 9 night while drifting in the area of the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands.

  Vessel KN 464 of VFRS Division No.4 found Benjamin Abdulla, a 32-year-old Filipino fisherman, adrift near Song Tu Tay, the northernmost island of the archipelago at around 8:00pm while performing duties in the area.

  The sailor said he and another Filipino fisherman were knocked into the water by high waves after the engine on their fishing boat broke down near Sinh Ton Dong Island. He was brought aboard the VFRS ship, with COVID-19 preventive rules strictly observed, and now in a good condition.

  The other man was rescued by Song Tu Tay islanders on the same night./.

• Over 10.3 million workers receive financial assistance

• Over 10.3 million workers affected by COVID-19 received more than 24.6 trillion VND (1.09 billion USD) in cash assistance from the unemployment insurance fund as of November 8, reported the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) on November 9.

  On November 8, Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Truong Thi Ngoc Anh also signed decisions on the allocation of 15.5 billion VND (485,000 USD) for COVID-19 prevention and control in localities.

  The Central Relief Committee decided to transfer 500 million VND in donations by overseas Vietnamese to the standing board of the VFF Committee of Ha Tien city, the southern province of Kien Giang for the effort.

  According to the PM’s Decision on amendments and supplements of several articles of Decision dated July 7, 2021, employers that have fully paid social insurance premium or are suspending contributions to retirement and survivor benefit funds as of January 2021, and employers affected by COVID-19 suffering from a reduction of at least 10 percent of the employees participating in social insurance compared to that in January 2021 will be entitled to financial assistance.

  They will also receive financial support in training and improvement of vocational skills for their workers.

  Workers who are forced to have their labour contracts suspended, stay on leave without pay due to COVID-19 treatment and medical quarantine, or partly or full closure of their factories will be also entitled for assistance.

  Children under COVID-19 treatment or medical quarantine, the elderly and the disabled will also benefit from the new policy./. 

• Fans must meet certain requirements to attend the Vietnam - Japan match

• Fans who want to enter My Dinh National Stadium to watch the football match between Vietnam and Japan must meet certain requirements besides the usual tickets, according to Hanoi City Police.

  Specifically, they must bring their identity cards or passports and certificates of full vaccination against COVID-19 with the second shot receiving at least 14 days prior to the game.

  If the vaccination information has not been integrated on the ID card, the spectators must bring a certificate of vaccination and present a negative test which is taken within 72 hours.

  In addition, fans need to arrive at My Dinh Stadium about two hours before the start of the match to complete procedures related to pandemic prevention and control. They are also required to install the VNEID app or get their own accounts on website: https://suckhoe.dancuquocgia.gov.vn) to make inland travel declaration, including testing information.

  Previously, the Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on November 5 reached an agreement with Medlatec General Hospital on conducting rapid tests for SARS-CoV-2 for spectators at a cost of 100,000 VND (4.3 USD) per test per person. The time it takes for results to return will be shortened so that fans can get the certificates as soon as possible.

  The match between Vietnam and Japan will take place at 7pm on November 11 at My Dinh National Stadium. Due to the complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic, the stadium is allowed to accommodate 12,000 spectators or about 30 percent of its capacity./.

• Official calls for internal codes of conduct on social media use

• It is urgent to have internal codes of conduct for using social networks and managing public relations, heard at a conference in Hanoi on November 9.

  The call was made by Nguyen Thanh Lam, Director of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)’ Authority of Press.

  Lam said Vietnam now has 850 print and online news agencies, 67 radio and television stations and thousands of news websites, with more than 20,000 licensed journalists. This does not include a large number of non-licensed reporters and tens of millions of social network accounts, including over 60 million Facebook users.

  With a multimedia world today, nothing can be hidden, he said, adding that anyone can be a source of information with just a social network account and a smartphone. Any actions or behaviours of individuals and organisations can be seen via posts, comments, photos and live videos on social media and turned into media crises, he noted.

  Urging for strengthening the specialized system for handling public relations, legal issues and media crises in each sector and locality, he stressed it is urgent to have internal codes of conduct for individuals and organisations.

  Leaders of sectors and localities must also have tools and ways to receive and review opinions and criticism on online platforms for proper analysis and response, he said, noting the MIC has a cyberspace monitoring centre which can provide support in this matter./

• Vietnam spotlights ADMM’s role in building common awareness on regional security issues

• Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang highlighted the role played by the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) over the last 15 years in strengthening trust and building common awareness on regional security issues, including the East Sea issue, through creating a framework for defence ministerial-level dialogue and consultation in the region.

  Addressing the ADMM Retreat 2021 held online on November 10 under the chair of Brunei’s Second Minister of Defence Major General (Retired) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Md Yussof, the Vietnamese officer said since the ADMM 2011 in Indonesia, the East Sea issue has been considered a common regional issue, and has been regularly discussed and included in joint statements by the ADMM.

  Regarding challenges to ASEAN's central role in cooperation with its partners, Giang said in the context that big countries have formed more and more multilateral mechanisms and new strategies, ADMM has and will continue to make efforts to demonstrate its role and position towards ensuring a balance of interests inside and outside the bloc, and ensure that countries outside ASEAN have responsibility for common issues of the region.

  Giang stressed that ASEAN needs to stick to its principled stance on the East Sea, settle disputes by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), strongly promote the commitment of countries to abide by international law, act responsibly, exercise self-restraint, refrain from actions that cause tension or complicate the situation, fully and effectively implement the the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), promote the early completion of an effective and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law and UNCLOS 1982.

  At the retreat, Brunei said that the Retreat focuses on how to further promote the role of ADMM in moving the ASEAN Community forward in the spirit of the ASEAN 2021 theme of “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper”.

  He updated participants on cooperation since the 15th ADMM and the 8th ADMM in June this year.

  The Ministers also exchanged views on the strategic direction of ADMM on the occasion of the 15th founding anniversary of ADMM./.

• Heavy rains to ravage central Vietnam until the weekend

  The central region will continue to see heavy rains until November 14 due to the effects of a low pressure according to the National Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting's Weather Forecast.

  Reports from the centre said that heavy rains have occurred in the last 24 in provinces from Quang Tri to Phu Yen. Some areas reported high rainfall including Binh Dinh (164 mm), Phu Yen (281 mm), and Khanh Hoa (158 mm).

  "A low pressure is affecting the region from today, November 11, so heavy rains will continue until November 14," the centre said. "Thua Thien Hue, Danang, Quang Nam, and Khanh Hoa provinces will see average rainfalls of between 150-350 mm. Areas from southern Quang Nam to Phu Yen will see higher rainfalls of between 350-600 mm."

  Speaking at a Tuesday meeting, Tran Quang Hoai, deputy head of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, noted the situation “remains complicated” in the central region, especially after local provinces experienced flooding in October 2021.

  He requested localities to make mass evacuation plans and put forces on standby in order to minimise damage caused by floods in the coming week.

  According to Hoai, localities should evacuate 260,000 residents from flood-prone areas and 110,000 residents from landslide-prone areas in case river water levels exceed the third alert level.

• Labour productivity key to national economic growth: NA deputies 

• National Assembly (NA) deputies highlighted the role of Vietnamese labour in fostering national economic growth while discussing socio-economic affairs on Tuesday.

  The legislators spent the whole day discussing the implementation of the 2021 socio-economic development plan and a draft plan for 2022, as well as reports on COVID-19, the implementation of the 2021 State budget in 2021, the central budget allocation plan for 2022, and the 2022-24 budget.

  Deputy Nguyễn Quang Huân from Bình Dương Province said that in spite of the pandemic, Việt Nam’s GDP growth of 2.2 per cent last year and roughly 3.5 per cent this year was an impressive achievement.

  To reach the target of becoming a high middle income country with an average annual GDP growth rate of about 6.5-7 per cent by 2030, GDP growth rates of next years must be about 7 to 8 per cent to compensate for the declining rate of COVID-affected years, Huân said.

  He agreed with the proposal made by the NA Economic Committee and proposed the Government consider a GDP target of 6.5 per cent in 2022.

  He said the Government needed solutions to increasing labour productivity as Việt Nam had great potential in this area

  “Our labour productivity, like the models of South Korea and Japan, is being compressed like springs. This is an opportunity to unleash the labour productivity springs if we focus on improving skills and technological innovation,” he said.

  Deputy Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga from Hải Dương Province said the labour force quality still remained limited. The pandemic has made an already weak labour force face shortages because a large number of workers left industrial zones and urban areas to return to rural areas.

  In order to recover in the post-pandemic period, the Government must pay special attention to human resource training and improving the capacity of high-skilled labourers, she said, proposing improving labour force quality of both domestic and exported labourers, and those working in both State and private sectors.

  One of the important solutions to attracting high-skilled labour force is wage policy.

  “Wage reform is not about spending more from a little budget to increase wages for employees, but wage reform must be considered an important investment in the human factor - the most important factor to ensure a fast-growing, healthy and sustainable economy,” she told the meeting.

  Deputy Lý Thị Lan from Hà Giang Province said the long social distancing period in HCM City and southern localities had seriously impacted the national economic development growth index, which showed the consequences of the migration wave and labour movement.

  She proposed moving industrial parks and assembly factories using manual labourers to neighbouring satellite provinces to take advantage of local labour forces, reducing pressure on big cities such as HCM City, Hà Nội and big industrial parks.

  Discussing the impact of COVID-19, a number of deputies raised concerns over the efficiency of online learning.

  Deputy Trần Thị Thu Phước from Kon Tum Province cited a survey conducted in August this year of more than 69,000 labourers. Many said the expenses of child online learning equipment was the greatest among their expenses.

  The Government report submitted to the NA had not clarified the number of children benefiting from the ‘Internet connection and computers for students’ programme, she said.

  Phước said online learning must be identified not only as a short-term solution, but also as an inevitable and long-term trend.

  The Ministry of Education and Training needed to urgently evaluate the effectiveness of recent online learning and address any shortcomings, she said. 

• Da Lat Flower Festival cancelled due to pandemic

  The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong has decided to cancel the coming Da Lat Flower Festival as the Covid-19 pandemic has remained complicated.

  The 9th festival is scheduled to be held in December. However, Lam Dong is facing an outbreak of Covid-19 with a sharp rise of new cases. Since November 9, the province has suspended many activities like night markets, karaoke parlours and cinemas for Covid-19 prevention. 

  The province plans to hold lighting and arts performances at Lam Vien Square and Xuan Huong Lake in Dalat City to mark the New Year of 2022.

  The entire money donated for organising Da Lat Flower Festival 2021 will be sent to the Internet and Computers for Students programme which is aimed to support poor children to study online during the pandemic.

  The event, which is organised every two years since 2003, aims at honouring flower growers in Dalat as well as calling for investment into trade and tourism development in the city. It often attracts a large number of visitors.

  Earlier, Lam Dong upgraded some local roads and installed traffic lights to prepare for the festival.

• Workshop promotes start-up support for students

• A workshop discussing international experience in fostering entrepreneurship among young people and students in the 4.0 era was held by the General Department of Vocational Training (GDVT) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs on November 9 in Hanoi.

  The workshop, part of activities in a project on “vocational training reform programme” by 2025, aimed to create a platform to share experience of Vietnam and other countries on policies and programme to support vocational students in starting their own business.

  Participants discussed and shared a number of models to support students studying in vocational education institutions in starting up business in Germany, Singapore, and Switzerland.

  Representatives from businesses and vocational education institutions said to promote startup in vocational education institutions, it is necessary to create a professional startup ecosystem, and include the subject of "startup"  in training programmes of vocational education institutions.

  To promote and encourage the start-up movement in education establishments, the Prime Minister issued Decision No.1665/QD-TTg approving a project to support students to start up businesses by 2025.

  Implementing the Decision, the Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs has approved a plan to implement the project in order to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship among students and vocational students after graduation.

  The plan to support start-ups for vocational students in Vietnam sets the goal that by 2025, 100 percent of vocational education institutions will provide start-up support for their students, and 12 million students at vocational education institutions will be equipped with knowledge about entrepreneurship and self-employment.

  Towards the goal, at least 150 training courses will be held to provide knowledge and skills on entrepreneurship for 7,500 staff, teachers, students and those who work to support students; and 150 training classes for 15,000 students at vocational training establishments.

  Under the plan, 100 percent of colleges and 50 percent of vocational schools will establish groups of experts to give advice and support in startup for students ./. 

• 12th Vietnamese-European Documentary Film Festival to open

• The 12th Vietnamese-European Documentary Film Festival will be held in Vietnam from December 18-27, announced the National Documentary and Scientific Film Studio One Member Co. Ltd under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

  The event will attract the participation of 12 countries and cultural centres of some European countries in Vietnam such as the Wallonie-Bruxelles Delegation, Goethe Institute, the French Institute in Hanoi, British Council and the embassies of Austria, Spain and Switzerland, among others.

  The cultural exchange activity is expected to give audiences at home and abroad access to new Vietnamese and European documentary films, as well as help them learn about contemporary filmmaking trends./.

• 13 wards, communes, towns in HCM City at ‘high level’ of COVID risk

In HCM City 13 out of 312 wards, communes and towns remained at ‘high risk’ of COVID-19 spread as of November 8, according to the Department of Health.

But there are no restrictions on travelling there.

The city’s status in the four-level categorisation is ‘medium risk’.

Cần Giờ and Nhà Bè districts are at ‘high risk’ because they have people working in industrial parks and export processing zones, which have COVID-19 incidence.

Districts 3, 10, 12, Bình Tân, Bình Thạnh, Bình Chánh, and Hóc Môn are ‘medium’ and the remaining 13 are ‘low’.

Phạm Đức Hải, deputy head of the city Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said there are 900-1,000 new COVID-19 cases every day. 

City authorities have instructed the public to comply with preventive measures and regulations on vaccination, testing and quarantine.  

With many people coming from outside testing positive, the city Department of Health has instructed relevant agencies and enterprises to monitor migrants closer to quickly detect COVID and prevent its spread. 

According to the chairman of the People’s Committee, Phan Văn Mãi, the city plans to test on a large scale to assess the situation.

Four per 1,000 people are likely to be tested, and the city expects to test at least 6,000 every day.

The Department of Health has instructed districts and Thủ Đức City to do tests, but said they should do them only in wholesale and traditional markets, bus stations, supermarkets, social welfare centres, and others at high risk of COVID spread.

Others at risk like small merchants, salespeople, ticket salesmen, security guards, motorbike taxi drivers, delivery workers, and others in residential areas should be tested based on their existing plans, it said.

A plan on periodic testing envisages doing pooled PCR tests every month for these risk groups, 10 per cent of them if they live in low-risk areas, 20 per cent in medium-risk areas and 30 per cent in high- and extremely-high risk areas.

People who are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID in the last six months should only be tested if they have symptoms, live in areas where epidemiological investigation is required or extremely high-risk areas or if they are required to quarantine by authorities.

According to Nguyễn Hoài Nam, deputy head of the Department of Health, the city has 51,424 medicine bags containing fever reducers, vitamins, corticosteroids, and anticoagulants left to provide COVID-19 patients at home.

It plans to buy more medicines if it sees an increase in COVID-19 incidence.

It also has stocks of antiviral drug Molnupiravir and will buy further if needed.

At the peak of the outbreak, the city had nearly 550 mobile medical stations with assistance from military medical personnel to treat patients.

Though the number of patients is reducing, the stations should remain, he said. Each can treat 50-100 people at a time.  

With the military personnel leaving, local authorities should get private and public hospitals to support the stations, he said.

The Department of Health has instructed local authorities and other relevant agencies to provide medicines for COVID patients in time and attend to all calls from patients, warning a failure to do so would be penalised.

HCM City, Đà Nẵng and the provinces of Quảng Ninh, Ninh Bình, Lào Cai, Thừa Thiên Huế, Cà Mau, Bình Dương, Vĩnh Long, Đồng Nai, Kiên Giang, and Sóc Trăng have started vaccinating children aged 12-17.  

So far 92.3 million doses have been administered in the country, which has a population of 98 million. 

1.3 million doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Viet Nam through COVAX

A total of 1,319,600 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines supplied through COVAX’s Advance Purchase Agreement with the manufacturer arrived in Hà Nội on Tuesday, announced UNICEF Việt Nam.

This brings the total donation from COVAX to Việt Nam to 27,099,730 doses, or over 70 per cent of the initiative’s pledge to deliver 38.9 million shots free-of-charge for Việt Nam in 2021.

The shipment comes after the US provided another 2,873,520 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines, also via COVAX, to Việt Nam over the past few days.

1,316,250 doses arrived on November 6 in Hà Nội, and 1,557,270 doses arrived in two shipments on November 7 and 8 in HCM City, according to a statement from the US Embassy in Việt Nam.

This is the seventh delivery to Việt Nam, totalling more than 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses made available by the United States.

“The United States has committed more than $30.2 million in COVID-19 related assistance for Việt Nam since the beginning of the pandemic. Building on our long-standing cooperation and investment in Việt Nam’s health infrastructure, we have provided support to essentially every pillar of the country’s pandemic response,” the statement reads.

“We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Việt Nam in the fight against COVID-19,” it adds.

“We extend our sincerest thanks to all COVAX donors and partners for making sure we have more vaccines available for the Vietnamese population to protect them from COVID-19,” says Kidong Park, WHO Representative in Việt Nam.

The COVAX Facility is co-led by WHO, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and Innovations (CEPI), GAVI - the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF as a delivery partner.

Earlier during the meeting with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính in France, COVAX Managing Director Aurelia Nguyen has said COVAX has decided to allocate 9 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to Việt Nam, on top of the previous commitments, and will deliver them to Việt Nam as soon as possible. 

The health ministry said it had so far distributed some 109 million doses of vaccines, and as of Tuesday afternoon, 92 million shots have been administered. Over 83 per cent of the adult population have received at least one dose of vaccine, with about 40.6 per cent having received two doses. 

Two more river bus routes proposed in HCM City

A company is seeking approval from HCM City to open two new river bus routes with a total investment of VND260 billion, linking districts District 1 and District 7.

The proposal has been submitted by Thuong Nhat Ltd. Co., the investor of the two current river bus routes in HCM City. The two routes will have a total investment of VND260 billion (USD11.3 million). 

Route 3 will start from Bach Dang wharf in District 1, follows the Saigon River and end at Mui Den Do. It would take passengers 56 minutes to make the 13-kilometre trip.

Route 4, which will be also 13 kilometres long, would link Bach Dang wharf and Phu My Hung area in District 7.  Boats of 50 seats will be used for Route 3 and a 30 seat vessel would be used for Route 4.

Record number of cases in Hanoi on Tuesday

The Ministry of Health announced a record number of daily cases in Hà Nội on Tuesday after 268 new cases were detected in the capital city. 

Daily cases across the country have continued to increase with 8,133 new infections, a rise of 175 compared to Monday. Total cases since the start of the pandemic now stand at 984,805. 

Tuesday's figures include four imported cases; 3,952 infections were found in the community.

HCM City topped the list with 1,276, followed by the southern provinces of Đồng Nai (923), Bình Dương (619), Sóc Trăng (572), An Giang (557), and Đồng Tháp (379).

Other cases were found in Kiên Giang (291), Cà Mau (285), Bình Thuận (279), Tây Ninh (241), Bạc Liêu (232), Tiền Giang (207), Đắk Lắk (197), Trà Vinh (180), Cần Thơ (163), Vĩnh Long (154), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (154), Hà Giang (127), Bình Phước (108), Khánh Hòa (99), Long An (93), Bình Định (65), Hậu Giang (58), Bến Tre (50), Nghệ An (50), Ninh Thuận (49), Bắc Ninh (46), Gia Lai (44), Quảng Nam (39), Quảng Ngãi (39), Đà Nẵng (32), Thừa Thiên Huế (32), Bắc Giang (31), Phú Thọ (26), Thanh Hóa (24), Lâm Đồng (20), Nam Định (20), Hưng Yên (17), Vĩnh Phúc (15), Phú Yên (10), Quảng Ninh (7), Thái Bình (7), Quảng Trị (6), Hà Nam (6), Điện Biên (6), Hải Phòng (4), Kon Tum (4), Hải Dương (4), Hòa Bình (3), Hà Tĩnh (3), Quảng Bình (2), Sơn La (2), Lai Châu (2), and Tuyên Quang (2).

The Ministry of Health on Tuesday also announced 88 fatalities, bringing the total death toll from COVID-19 in Việt Nam to 22,686. 

However, a further 1,325 patients have recovered from the virus, meaning total national recoveries now stand at 842,800.

Việt Nam has so far administered more than 92.2 million doses of vaccine, of which 30.3 million people have been inoculated twice.

Techcombank HCM City Marathon rescheduled for 2022

The 5th Techcombank HCM City International Marathon, which was due to be held on December 12, will be delayed until December 11, 2022.

The marathon organiser, Sunrise Events Việt Nam, confirmed the latest announcement of the time and plan for the sport event last weekend.

It said the marathon could not take place as originally scheduled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in HCM City throughout 2021.

The event’s organising committee spoke with experts on the event’s timing, and the current COVID-19 situation before setting the new date for the marathon.

The organisers said the delay was given in consideration for the health and safety of the community in compliance with the Government’s resolution on temporary regulations in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The race, which draws around 10,000 athletes and participants annually, offers a full marathon at 42km, a half-marathon at 21km, a 10km race, 5km run and a kid run.

The event, which was introduced in 2017, had attracted professional athletes from Kenya and Ethiopia.

HCM City to use 173.5 hectares for low-income housing

HCM City has planned to allocate 173.5 hectares of land to carry out housing projects for low-income earners in the 2021-2025 period.

The move is aimed to raise the city’s housing area per capita to 23.5 square metres by 2025.   

During the 2021-2025 phase, the city will call investments for 18 projects to provide a total of around 17,900 apartments for workers. Of the sum, eight projects with 9,600 apartments will be located in the five outlying districts of Binh Chanh, Hoc Mon, Nha Be, Cu Chi and Can Gio.

The city is expected to need around VND566.98 trillion (USD24.65 billion) on housing projects between 2021 and 2025, including VND37,69 trillion for low-income housing projects.

Of the VND37.69-trillion investment for housing projects for low-income people, the state will fund VND1.17 trillion, equal to five percent of the total.

Next year, HCM City will use 52.1 hectares of land for housing projects for low-income people with a total investment of VND698 billion.

Drama club offers online performances on COVID-19 fight

Young actors of the drama club Ngôi Sao Xanh (Blue Star) in HCM City will offer online performances and videos on YouTube to keep their business alive after lockdown. 

They plan to produce new drama plays and comedies about the Vietnamese people's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The one and two-act shows feature information and facts about COVID-19 and healthcare tips. 

In the shows, the actors encourage people to wash their hands, wear face masks, and declare their health. They also ask people to stop reporting fake news, stockpiling or hoarding goods, and gathering in public places.

“Our plays will highlight the stories, challenges and sacrifices that HCM City doctors, nurses and other health workers have faced during the pandemic,” said the club’s art director Hoàng Tấn. 

“People’s daily life and difficulties in quarantine zones are also featured. Themes on love, unity, mercy, energy and belief are also included.”

Tấn invited celebrated directors and producers, such as People’s Artist Trần Minh Ngọc and Trần Ngọc Giàu, to help the club’s actors improve their performance skills.

Ngôi Sao Xanh opened in 2019 and has received support from the HCM City Theatre, one of the region’s leading State-owned theatres. 

The club has attracted 20 young actors from art schools such as the HCM City University of Theatre & Cinematography and HCM City University of Culture.

It offers quality shows featuring social issues targeted toward young people, such as love and marriage, women’s rights and gender equality, pollution and environmental protection. 

"We have faced difficulties in offering live shows amid the pandemic. YouTube is a way to keep our business alive and expand Vietnamese drama among audiences,” said Tấn, who has spent several hours each day in the studio to complete his actors’ videos.

Special classes for students quarantined in Quảng Bình Province

Despite an entire class being moved to centralised quarantine in Quảng Bình Province after a positive COVID-19 case in the classroom, this hasn't gotten in the way of their learning. In fact, classes are continuing as normal in the former headquarters of the District Military Command that has been repurposed as their quarantine facility. 

On November 1, Tuyên Hóa District Education and Training Division received the news that a student in Class 1C, Sơn Hóa Elementary School in Tuyên Hóa District, had caught COVID-19 from a family member, Head of the Division Hoàng Văn Phúc told Tiền Phong (Vanguard) Newspaper.

The classroom was immediately quarantined and all students returned home while waiting for further instruction from the district’s Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention and control.

At 7 pm on the same day, all 29 students in Class 1C and five teachers were taken to a building that was previously the headquarters of the district Military Command, for centralised quarantine. 

“Our hearts were heavy seeing these timid, confused children getting into the specialised vehicles in the dark. They are still too young to understand what was going on when they have just started school”, said Phúc.

“In order to ensure COVID-19 prevention measures, many parents only managed to send basic necessities for their children through the school fences”.

Then an idea came to his mind, “Why not hold a class right in the quarantine area when teachers and students are all there?”

His proposal was immediately accepted by the province. The commune leaders were directed by the district’s Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention and control to help the school move tables, chairs, and school supplies from the classroom to the quarantine zone. 

This special class officially started two days later at the main hall of the District Military Command's former headquarters.  

The class was divided into two shifts, with one table for each student, sitting two metres from one another. 

A WiFi system and rooms were also available for quarantined teachers to teach students at home via online classes, ensuring that the children’s learning was not disrupted. 

“The first day opening the class in the quarantine zone, I was very nervous. But when I received the report, especially from the teachers in the area, I felt reassured”, said Phúc.

“Teachers and students were all very excited. I believe that this class will be a success in terms of both education and pandemic prevention”, he continued.

“In the future, if there are more classes that must go to centralised quarantine, I think it is possible to continue with this model. Our division will continue looking into utilising classrooms as centralised quarantine areas for students and teachers, where they can continue learning and teaching as usual”, said Phúc.

Phan Thị Thảo Quyên, Class 1C homeroom teacher, shared that upon hearing the news of an infected student in the class, all the teachers were extremely worried. The young pupils had no idea what was happening and were confused that their parents didn’t pick them up after class.

As the teachers explained the situation, many children became anxious and started sobbing. Many more began crying when they were put on the specialised vehicle to go into quarantine, said Quyên.

“We were pondering what to do in this 14-day isolation period when we were informed that classes can resume as normal. We were all incredibly happy and excited”, she said. 

Of the 29 students having to go into quarantine, only a few had their parents coming with them as F1 (close contacts of COVID-19 patients), while the rest of the pupils went alone. Teachers then had to fill in the parent's role to take care of the children.

“When the students first arrived at the centre, many panicked, some even refused to eat. This is the first time away from home for most of them, so a lot of them were crying or homesick”, said Quyên.

“We then had to stay up and comfort them so as not to wake the other pupils. Without their parents by their side, we all see them as our own children. Fortunately, they can attend class during the day, so their homesickness is somewhat relieved”, she continued.

She also thanked the Tuyên Hóa commune leaders for the well-equipped facilities. The classes have gone smoothly as it is very convenient for both teachers and students.

The quarantine area and the classroom are also very spacious and well-ventilated, so pandemic prevention measures are ensured.

Nguyễn Thái Phong, a student in this special class said; “I went alone without my parents. I miss my family, but I am happy to have my friends and teachers with me here. I promise to follow the pandemic prevention measures and study hard, to stay healthy when I return home”.

Đặng Ngọc Tuấn, Director of Quảng Bình Department of Education and Training, said that this was a brilliant initiative. In addition to the quality of education in the quarantine zone, it is necessary to ensure pandemic prevention measures and prevent cross-infection. 

Factories in HCM City industrial zones adopt COVID safety regulations

Around 1,355 businesses, or 96 per cent of tenants in industrial parks and export processing zones have resumed operations since the lockdown was lifted on October 1, according to the HCM City Export Processing Zone and Industrial Park Authority.

Almost all their workers were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have recovered from the disease, Hứa Quốc Hưng, head of HEPZA, said.

Businesses have replaced the model of workers living onsite with safe workplace requirements, strictly complying with the Ministry of Health’s 5K protocol and maintaining social distancing of at least one metre.

Some 50 COVID cases are reported daily at factories in IPs and EPZs, accounting for 0.02 per cent of labourers.

Periodic COVID testing of workers is not mandatory, but businesses do tests once a week to quickly detect infections and quarantine patients to prevent broader outbreaks.

Datalogic Việt Nam Co. Ltd. at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in Thủ Đức City tests for more than 800 workers every week though all are fully vaccinated.

It spends more than VNĐ200 million (US$8,700) for COVID testing every week.

The hi-tech park last week set up a 200-bed medical facility to quarantine and treat people who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

According to Nguyễn Anh Thi, head of the park management, the facility is run by staff from Bắc Mỹ General Hospital in co-ordination with the Thủ Đức City Health Centre.

Businesses pay VNĐ120,000 ($5) daily for meals for workers who are quarantined and treated.

Two other similar facilities will be set up at the Đông Nam Industrial Park in Củ Chi District and Linh Trung 2 Export Processing Zone in Thủ Đức City.

HEPZA said more such facilities would be set up to promptly detect and treat infected workers.

Under the Department of Health’s new guidelines for COVID-prevention and control, factories are not required to shut down when a worker tests positive, and only need to suspend operations at the site where the patient worked to disinfect.

Hanoians prefer Cát Linh – Hà Đông metro to personal vehicles

Many Hanoians say they prefer to use Cát Linh – Hà Đông elevated train, which opened last Saturday, over their personal vehicles.

Nguyễn Thanh Vân, 38, of Đống Đa District, said that after using the train on Sunday she decided to take the train to go to the office from now on, instead of driving her motorbike.

“Travelling by train is very safe and convenient. No traffic jams, no dust, no noise pollution and no worries about rainy or sunny weather,” she said.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Hương, of Hà Đông District said: “It was a great experience. The train ran very smoothly, and the train staff were enthusiastic to guide passengers on how to board."

Hương said the route from her house to her office was suitable for travelling by train.

It only took about 24 minutes to travel from her home to the office by train, while it could take her an hour on her motorbike.

Other passengers had the same thoughts, and said that travelling by train was three to four times faster than by car or motorbike. Besides, the train space was clean and spacious.

It will only cost VNĐ200,000 (US$8.8) for a monthly ticket to travel by train, cheaper than the cost of running a personal vehicle each month.

However, several passengers were hesitant to choose the train because there was no parking space for their personal vehicles at stations. 

Lê Văn Được, of Hà Đông District, said he went by the train on Saturday and it ran smoothly and quickly. However, he had to go on foot to Phùng Khoang Station because there was no parking space there.

“It takes me 20 minutes to go on foot,” he said.

It is possible to go on foot in the winter, but it will be inconvenient in the summer or on rainy days, he added.

Vũ Hồng Trường, director general of Hà Nội Metro One Member Limited Company (Hà Nội Metro), said the police together with units such as traffic inspectors and Hà Nội’s Transport Department were tasked with arranging the parking activities of passengers during the first 15 days of free travel.

Currently, Hà Nội Metro temporarily provides the lobby B of Cát Linh Station for passengers to park personal vehicles during the first seven days when the department is arranging locations for parking lots, he said.

The city has also ordered the transport department to survey and arrange parking lots to serve train passengers within a radius of 300-400m from the stations, he said.

In the handbook for passengers, Hà Nội Metro also suggests available parking lots near the stations.

Hà Nội Traffic Management and Operation Centre's Director Nguyễn Hoàng Hải said when the project of building Cát Linh – Hà Đông Railway Station started, there was no space left to arrange for parking at stations. Therefore, the transport department was now conducting a survey to set up parking lots near 10 of the 12 stations.

Hải also said the two stations of Cát Linh and Yên Nghĩa, located at the start and end of the line, would set up parking lots as they had enough space.

Cát Linh – Hà Đông elevated railway, with a total investment of approximately US$868 million (US$315 million higher than initial estimates) and funded by China’s official development aid, officially carried its first passengers last Saturday after 10 years of construction.

The line is more than 13km long and has 12 stations and 13 trains. Each train, with speeds up to 80km per hour, has four carriages, capable of carrying more than 900 passengers in total.

The initial commercial routes of the railway were divided into two phases. The first, lasting six months, includes the first 15 days of free travel for all passengers, with four to six trains running from 5:30am to 10pm, at 10 to 15 minute intervals.

In the second phase, also for six months, there will be a total of nine trains running from 5:30am to 10:30pm, with 10-minute intervals, reduced to six minutes during peak times.

To board, people have to go to the second floor of the stations, obtain a ticket from the automatic ticket machines, or buy directly from ticket kiosks, and then enter the ticket barriers.

Hanoi's suburban districts strive to fulfil new rural development programme

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the progress of agriculture and new rural development goals of Hà Nội for the last two years. The municipal authority has instructed that all efforts be made to achieve these goals by the end of the year.

According to the Hà Nội Agriculture and Rural Development, there are 12 out of 18 suburban districts and township reaching new rural criteria. They are Đan Phượng, Đông Anh, Thanh Trì, Hoài Đức, Quốc Oai, Gia Lâm, Thạch Thất, Thường Tín, Thanh Oai, Phúc Thọ, Sóc Sơn and Sơn Tây. 

The six remaining districts are expected to reach this target by the end of 2021 or in 2022.

Since meeting the new rural standard, people’s lives have markedly improved. Per capita income has increased VNĐ55 million (US$2,400) per year on average. In the districts of Thạch Thất, Hoài Đức, Đan Phựợng and Chương Mỹ income has risen between VNĐ60-70-million (US$2,600-3,000).

Thanks to the implementation of the new rural development programme, infrastructure in rural areas has also improved. Access to health care and disease prevention has been a priority. 

At present, all commune clinics have doctors. The proportion of people participating in health insurance have reached 90.1 per cent.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, local governments have been implementing measures of disease prevention and control, as well as giving support to those who have lost their jobs and income.

However, there were many challenges to the programme, according to Chu Phú Mỹ, Director of the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and co-ordinator of the new rural development programme.

“In recent years, the pandemic and the implementation of social distancing to prevent the disease from spreading out has badly affected all aspects of socio-economic life,” Mỹ said.

“The implementation of construction works, completion of targets and criteria in the new rural development process faced many difficulties. It was because the local governments had to mainly focus on the pandemic prevention and control activities,” Mỹ said.

“After social distancing lifted, many localities in Hà Nội accelerated the implementation of the programme to reach the set goals,” he said.

“However, along with the objective causes of the pandemic, resources for new rural development were also a difficult problem for many localities,” he added.

Many localities, especially poor districts, have asked the Hà Nội authorities for funding to implement the programme.

Nguyễn Đình Hoa, Chairman of Chương Mỹ District’s People’s Committee, said that he wanted the city to support communes in developing countryside areas, to motivate localities to meet the new rural development goals.

Nguyễn Mạnh Quyền, Vice Chairman of the Hà Nội People’s Committee, said that although the city has allocated capital to localities according to the medium-term plan, it is not yet enough.

The city has assigned the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to co-ordinate with relevant departments, branches and localities to review criteria. This will help the city offer specific assistance packages for pushing up the programme implementation, Quyền said.

However, the localities also need to make efforts to overcome these difficulties to achieve the goals, he said.

Nguyễn Thị Tuyến, Vice Secretary of Hà Nội’s Party Committee, asked four districts of Chương Mỹ, Phú Xuyên, Ứng Hòa and Mê Linh to fulfil the programme by the end this year.

The other districts must fulfil incomplete criteria, especially clean water and environment criteria, Tuyến said.

The departments of Investment and Planning, and Finance need to consider funding assistance packages to ensure all districts fulfil new rural development target by next year, she added. 

HCM City district told to take preventive measures as COVID clusters emerge in families 

HCM City authorities have ordered Hóc Môn District to enhance pandemic prevention measures, especially to minimise the number of severe cases and COVID-related deaths following a surge in the number of cases in recent weeks. 

Speaking during an inspection in Hóc Môn on Sunday, Nguyễn Văn Nên, secretary of the city Party Committee, warned of the high risk of infection due to people neglecting preventive measures, especially since early October when the city lifted most of its restrictions.

“It’s paramount to stop the source of infection and focus on treatment in order to minimise the number of severe cases and deaths.”

Outbreak clusters are occurring in families and neighbourhoods in Hóc Môn. The city will help with personnel if the district forces fail to cope with such clusters of outbreaks, according to Nên.

While waiting for assistance from the city, the district must make good use of the available forces to tackle the outbreaks, according to Nên. “Mild or symptomless cases should be provided specific instructions and medicine for home isolation and treatment.” 

Dương Anh Đức, vice chairman of the People’s Committee, said that Hóc Môn District has a large population of more than 422,000, making it more challenging to contain an outbreak. 

He urged the district to speed up testing to detect cases early for timely isolation and treatment and use medicine packages for home treatment.

Dương Hồng Thắng, chairman of Hóc Môn People’s Committee, said the district would set up temporary quarantine facilities in communes and towns, including kindergartens. 

Hóc Môn will soon put into use a 300-bed field hospital for COVID treatment and plans to set up a COVID response team for screening at high-risk areas, he said.

According to the Hóc Môn Health Centre, from October 23 to November 5, the district recorded 6,712 positive cases through rapid tests at 2,592 households, mostly in Xuân Thới Thượng, Đông Thạnh, Bà Điểm, Xuân Thới Sơn, Tân Thới Nhì, Nhị Bình and Trung Chánh communes.

Of the cases, 5,773 cases (or 86 per cent) have mild symptoms and 21 severe cases require hospitalisation and four deaths.

As many as 335 cases or 5 per cent were detected through self-testing and 604 cases or 9 per cent detected at companies, private clinics and hospitals

Health stations in the district’s wards have instructed 6,066 cases (or 90 per cent)to be isolated at home. The stations provided 5,106 medicine bags for patients aged 18 and over.

According to the Health Centre, a number of people are showing concern over the safety of Molnupiravir for treatment due to a lack of information about its safety and effectiveness.

Commune and township health stations must disseminate information to encourage people to use Molnupiravir to limit the number of deaths.

During the fourth wave, Hóc Môn had 31 mobile medical stations in 12 communes and towns, with mainly military medical staff. After the military medical force left, the Department of Health set up 15 mobile medical stations in the district with staff from the Children 2 Hospital and Hóc Môn General Hospital. 

HCM City has seen the number of cases and hospitalisations increasing slightly over the past two weeks, with most hospitalised patients having mild symptoms, according to a survey conducted by the Department of Health.

Eighty-six per cent of hospitalised patients have had either one or two vaccine doses, and the remaining 14 per cent of patients are unvaccinated. Ninety per cent of unvaccinated patients are under 18 years old.

Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh Châu, deputy director of department, attributed the rising number to the return of unvaccinated migrant workers to the city and the lifting of restrictions.

“Although fully vaccinated people have a much lower risk of death or serious illness after infection, it is still essential to comply with social distancing, mask wearing, and hand sanitisation to prevent infection.” 

HCM City has recorded nearly 439,000 cases since the end of April when the fourth wave began. 

Large field production model helps Ninh Thuận farmers reap higher incomes

Agricultural production has been increasing in the south-central province of Ninh Thuận in recent years, thanks to the innovative Large Field Model (LFM).

The production model uses scientific and technical advances to improve production efficiency while enhancing links between farmers, enterprises and cooperatives to ensure product consumption.

A grape-growing business ran by Trần Thái Truyện, in Vĩnh Hải Commune of Ninh Hải District, is a typical example of the successes reaped from LFM in production.

Truyện's family traditionally grew Red Cardinal grapes. When harvesting, Truyện always had to find traders to buy grapes.

“Traders always made excuses for low product quality and difficulties of the market to lower their prices. Production efficiency was low,” Truyện said.

In 2018, with help from the local government and Thái An Cooperative, his family began growing NH-01-152 grape varieties over an area of 2,000sq.m, as per LFM and Vietgap standards.

The cooperative supplied seedlings, planting and nursery techniques, as well as knowledge on how to economically water the crops and supported product consumption. Thanks to these efforts, the economic efficiency was better, Truyện said.

This grape variety has many outstanding advantages. It is a large firm fruit with thick skin, juicy flesh, moderate sweetness and a characteristic light aroma. Each bunch of grapes ranges from 0.5-1.5kg.

When this grape is ripe it has a beautiful red wine colour and is very popular in the market.

This grape variety, which can be harvested twice a year, gives a yield of 1-1.2 tonnes per 1,000sq.m per crop.

Normally, the grapes sell for VNĐ100,000-120,000 (US$4.4-5.2) per kilo.

Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for the last two years, the prices of grapes fell slightly to VNĐ80,000-90,000 ($3.5-3.9) per kilo. However, this price is still 4-5 times higher than traditional grape varieties, the farmer said.

After deducting investment costs, Truyện’s family still has a profit of over VNĐ50 million ($2,200) per 1,000sq.m per crop.

Nguyễn Khắc Phòng, Director of Thái An Cooperative, said it has 64 members participating in growing LFM production grapes over a total planting area of seven ha. 

To improve production efficiency, the cooperative assisted members by supplying seedlings and agricultural materials, installing water-saving irrigation systems, and transferring science and technology, said Phòng.

The cooperative also signed contracts with fertiliser and plant substance protection companies to obtain the best prices for their members, Phòng said.

To ensure stable consumption, the cooperative signed contracts with each member or introduced reputable traders to farmers.

The cooperative is mobilising members to expand the cultivation areas of the NH 01-152 grape varieties, combined with an eco-tourism model to maximise profits, he said.

Like the grape farmers, the Raglai ethnic minorities in Phước Chính Commune of Bác Ái District have applied LFM techniques to their rice production.

The application has helped the farmers increase their incomes, thanks to land accumulation, mechanisation from sowing to harvesting and marketing more products.

According to Patau Asah Thị Dém, Secretary of the commune’s Party Committee, since 2020 the commune has carried out rice LFM projects in Phước Chính Commune. The projects involve 11 households over 4.6ha of land.

So far, the crops produced have brought higher economic value than the traditionally-produced style, she said.

There are 56 households taking part in the project over a total area of nearly 24 hectares. The average yield was 5.5-6 tonnes per ha, 1.5 times more than traditional farming, she said.

The rice was purchased by cooperatives in the district, so farmers could rest assured to they have a market to sell their goods, she added.

The rice LFM had helped not only the Raglai farmers change their production practices, but also helped the commune improve income criteria. 

According to Ninh Thuận Province’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department, the province had deployed 27 large fields with a total area of 3,600ha, of which there were three rice fields of 250ha each, 20 rice fields of total 3,160ha, one asparagus field of 55ha, one grape field of nearly 30ha and a maize field of 80ha.

According to expert assessment, the LFM has created a link between households, co-operatives and businesses that enhances investment in farming and the application of science and technology to improve productivity and quality of agricultural products.

The economic efficiency per unit area was higher than that of traditional farming methods.

Specifically, for rice fields, the yield was 10-20 per cent higher than the production of individual households. The selling price was higher than the market price by VNĐ50-200 per kilo.

Following the model, farmers reduced production costs by 5-10 per cent while profits increased by 15-30 per cent, compared to old-styled production.

For maize, after deducting production costs, farmers earned a profit of VNĐ35 million ($1,500) per hectare, about VNĐ20 million per hectare higher than traditional farming methods.

Large fields of grapes, especially asparagus, also brought higher profits, providing farmers with a stable income and further investment opportunities. 

The LFM also created a breakthrough for promoting agriculture in the direction of production linkage with the value chain.

However, the LFM does have some shortcomings.

The scale and effectiveness of the model are still not commensurate with the set target,  because there were many fields on a small scale.

Many farmers are still engaged in traditional farming and do not comply with modern techniques. Many cooperatives face difficulties in capital, leading to weak capabilities that hinder their ability to invest, produce and consume. 

These barriers must be overcome for LFM to be truly successful. 

According to Đặng Kim Cương, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the introduction of science, technology and mechanisation has minimised the adverse effects of the weather. LFM production values have also solved the shortage of agricultural labour and reduced production costs, and improved production efficiency.

To promote the process, Ninh Thuận encourages further land accumulation through land-use rights transfer, land lease or land contribution to creating large fields, said Cương.

In larger fields, farmers will be instructed to grow high-quality plant varieties with competitive advantages in the market, he said.

The provincial authority would further invest in building irrigation systems and offer loans to households to expand production, he added. 

Young village leaders usher in new prosperity in Tuyen Quang Province

Some of the youngest village leaders in Tuyên Quang Province are proving to be the most successful at pulling their villages out of poverty and ushering in a new age of prosperity, thanks to the innovative new styles of business that they have promoted. 

Trần Quang Tuấn, 39, a Sán Dìu ethnic-minority man and head of Bình Man Village in Sơn Nam Commune, said his village has 85 households. Most of them are Sán Dìu ethnic minority people.

Tuấn said he was elected to be the head of the village five years ago. At that time, many households in the village were poor. He was determined to find a way to help the residents escape from poverty.

First, Tuấn examined suitable livelihood models, including raising chickens and pigs or growing tea and lemon, from both inside and outside the province, to learn from the experiences of others.

Then, Tuấn piloted the model in his village. He planted half of a hectare of lemon trees and raised 50 pigs.

Thanks to the knowledge he gained from his research, the pilot was successful and he earned about VNĐ150 million (US$6,500) per year.

He then persuaded local residents to employ the model and passed on his own experiences. 

After five years, many local households grew out of poverty. The average monthly income of the residents reached VNĐ3.6 million (US$158). Now, there are only two poor households in the village.

Trần Minh Quang, a resident in the village, said he decided to build a farm to raise chickens in 2018, thanks to the encouragement of Tuấn.

Tuấn invited Quang to participate in many training courses in the village, to learn about how to successfully raise chickens.

At first, Quang raised 1,000 chickens, before gradually expanding the scale of the farm.

Quang said, “Tuấn helped me a lot, I am so thankful.” 

Thanks to Tuấn's help, Quang earned a profit of VNĐ300 million ($13,100) last year from raising chicken.

Hoàng Ngọc Ân, 37, of the district’s Cầu Trâm Village, was selected to be the head of the village in 2019.

Ân became a good example for local residents after he participated in training courses on how to raise pigs. He then raised 100 pigs for meat and earned a profit of VNĐ150 million ($6,500) each year.

In the three years since Ân was elected as the village head, 40 per cent of the households have raised 3,000 pigs to improve their income.

Phạm Văn Hà, a resident in the village, said his family was one of the poor households in the village in 2019.

Thanks to Ân, Hà decided to raise ten pigs and grow half a hectare of macadamia trees to escape from poverty.

Hà said he earned dozens of million of đồng each year from these activities.

“It is thanks to Ân’s support,” Hà said.

It is estimated that 54 per cent of the total households in the village have escaped from poverty so far.

Hứa Văn Lập, 39, head of Ao Xanh village, has encouraged nine households in the village to donate over 1,000s.q m of land to build a concrete road, with a length of 500m in the village.

Lập said when he took his position as the head of the village three years ago he wanted to improve the road system in the village.

At the time, the road connecting Ao Xanh Village to the nearby village of Ngòi Lèo was a narrow earthen road.

“It has been inconvenient for people travelling between the villages for many years,” he said.

Lập wanted to turn the earthen road into a concrete road that better serves residents. He persuaded locals to donate their land to help build the road.

Đỗ Văn Nghình, a resident of the village, said he donated 360sq.m of his land to build the road.

Nghình said he saw many students fall when going along the road on rainy days because it was so slippery and sodden.

The earth road was also narrow, which made it difficult to travel along, he added.

“When Lập told me about the donation, I agreed,” he said.

Nghình said he is happy that his land was used for the project.

Lập said that to successfully mobilise people to donate their land, he first had to gain their trust. 

To do that, he always took the lead in obeying the policies of the village, listened to the people’s thoughts and sought ways to help them to overcome difficulties.

Dương Chí Thành, the Party Committee Secretary of Sơn Nam Commune said, Tuấn and Lập were among the youngest heads of village in the commune so far.

Both of them were creative and enthusiastic people at work, he said. 

HCM City records more COVID-cases in districts with industrial parks

The number of COVID-19 cases in HCM City has increased in districts with industrial parks, according to the city's Department of Health.

The department has strengthened prevention measures in districts 12, Nhà Bè, and Bình Chánh where many industrial parks are located.

District 12 has launched 10 mobile clinics managed by the district’s hospital. The district has recorded more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases since October 23.

Of these, 1,200 cases were in Tân Thới Hiệp Ward. They are mostly workers at the Tân Thới Hiệp Industrial Park and people living in boarding houses in the ward.

The department has asked local authorities to work with the Management Board of HCM City Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks Authority (HEPZA) to set up a mobile clinic and a quarantine zone inside the Tân Thới Hiệp IP.

Local authorities have encouraged people who have not been fully vaccinated to get the vaccine at ward-level medical centres. There is no need for advance registration.

The district now has 95 per cent of population aged over 18 who are fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, Bình Chánh District has recorded 6,201 cases since early October.

The highest number of COVID-19 cases were found at Vĩnh Lộc A, Phạm Văn Hai and Lê Minh Xuân communes where many industrial parks are located.

Most of the cases are workers living in boarding houses.

Local authorities have been handling the COVID clusters according to the department’s regulations.

Nhà Bè District recorded 2,551 cases from October 1 to November 4. They were mostly workers at Hiệp Phước and Long Hậu Industrial Parks, and people in boarding houses.

The district now has seven mobile clinics managed by military medical forces.

Nguyễn Hoài Nam, deputy director of the Health Department, said that Nhà Bè faced a high risk of an outbreak because it has many IPs and seaports. The districts with IPs still face the same risk as Nhà Bè.

He asked local authorities to ensure prevention and control measures at IPs and boardinghouses. 

PM instructs intensification of measures to fight COVID-19

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has called for further stepping up COVID-19 prevention measures as the number of new cases continues to rise nationwide over the past days.

In the official dispatch released by the Government Office on Sunday, the Government leader requested the Steering Committees for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of provinces and Centrally-run cities to direct the strict implementation of the Government’s Resolution 128/NQ-CP dated October 11, 2021 on safe adaptation, flexible and effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic; guide steering committees for COVID-19 prevention and control at all levels to prepare plans and scenarios for pandemic prevention and control in the locality.

Provinces and cities should improve the capacity of their health systems, especially at the grassroots level, get ready to immediately establish mobile medical stations in case of outbreaks, and step up vaccination drives.

The Ministry of Health was told to allocate the received vaccines, and along with the Ministry of Defence must to support localities to inject doses as quickly as possible.

The PM also asked to strengthen inspections over pandemic prevention and control at agencies, units, organisations and enterprises, especially at hospitals and production facilities, markets, supermarkets, railway stations, airports and bus stations.

People's Committees of provinces and Centrally-run cities were required to continue to review and strictly implement policies to support people and enterprises affected by the pandemic.

At an online meeting with the southwestern and the Central Highlands provinces on COVID-19 prevention and control on Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam asked the Ministry of Health to urgently allocate vaccines and organise vaccination drives in these regions, ensuring all adults will be injected first vaccine dose within five days.

He said people who received first dose of vaccine should be inoculated with second doses quickly and children and young people aged 12 to 17 years should also be vaccinated.

The Ministry of Health needs to have specific guides and ensure the source of drugs for early treatment of F0 cases to minimise the severe illness and fatalities.

ASEAN-Australia dialogue promotes women's empowerment

Promoting the wide participation of women in peace and security in the region was important and has been often put on the agenda for discussions among ASEAN members, said Foreign Minister Bùi Thanh Sơn while addressing the opening of the second ASEAN-Australia Dialogue on Women, Peace and Security via teleconference in Hà Nội on Tuesday.

The event, entitled "Women, peace and security: progressing implementation on the road to recovery from COVID-19", was co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Việt Nam and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Sơn said in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, women and girls were the most vulnerable but played an important role in the fight against the pandemic. Women and girls needed to be considered as a centre of efforts in response to crises and post-crisis recovery.

He proposed participants at the meeting discuss practical measures to maintain cooperation on women and on COVID-19 prevention and control and recovery, towards long-term peace and security in the region.

Opening the meeting, visiting Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia was committed to coordinate with ASEAN to promote the implementation of international commitments and the United Nations Resolution about women, peace and security, to promote the participation of women in international peacekeeping operations and humanitarian activities and to protect human rights in the community.

She said cooperation on women was one of the high priorities of Australia’s policies. The Australian Government would support ASEAN in implementing projects such as digital transformation, vocational training and cooperation programmes relating to gender as well as promote projects about women, peace and security, she said.

At the dialogue, delegates discussed measures to improve the leadership role and voice of women in decision making, enhance economic power for women and bring gender equality and women empowerment to become one of the key priorities in the construction process of the ASEAN Community after 2025.

They also discussed ways to promote the role of women in COVID-19 recovery in parallel with the common efforts of the humankind in response to major challenges such as armed conflicts, climate change, poverty and social inequality.

The first ASEAN-Australia dialogue on women, peace and security was held in 2018. 

Thailand offers medical supplies to support COVID-19 fight

The Thai Government on November 9 presented medical supplies worth THB2.5 million (roughly US$75,000) to help Vietnam combat COVID-19.

The batch comprises 4 infusion pumps, 10,000 N95 masks, 10 ICU beds, 10 oxygen systems, and 2 portable X-ray machines.

The medical supplies were donated by businesses and organizations, including B.Grimm Power, SCG Group, Bangkok Bank, Central Group, Srithai Superware, AMATA Vietnam, ThaiBev Group, Kasikorn Bank, All-Thai Vietnamese Association, and Thailand - Vietnam Business Association.

Addressing the handover ceremony, Permanent Secretary of the Thai ministry Thani Thongphakdi and President of the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association Sanan Angubolkul affirmed that Thailand will always stand side by side with Vietnam in difficult times. They expressed hope that the two countries will soon contain the pandemic and recover their economies.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh thanked the Thai side for its valuable gift which he said demonstrates solidarity and friendship between the two countries. He said the medical supplies will effectively support Vietnam’s healthcare system to respond to the pandemic in difficult provinces.

Vietnam and Thailand will continue their close coordination in economic recovery after the pandemic, the ambassador stressed.

Apart from the donations, Thai firms operating in Vietnam have also joined hands with the Vietnamese Government in the pandemic fight, raising millions of US dollars in support of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine fund.

Notably, the Thai Government has facilitated the export of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine produced in Thailand to Vietnam.

Vietnam’s COVID-19 daily count rises to more than 8,000 cases

Vietnam has recorded 8,133 new coronavirus infections in 55 cities and provinces across the country during the past 24 hours, an increase of 175 cases compared to the previous day.

Official figures released by the Ministry of Health (MoH) at 06pm on November 9 also showed an additional 88 people have died and 1,325 more patients have recovered from the disease. 

Of the newly-detected infections, 3,952 cases were documented in the community through random testing or test screening.

Ho Chi Minh City remains the largest coronavirus hotspot in Vietnam, as it registered 1,276 more cases. The city is working hard to prevent the resurgence of the virus in a number of districts such as Can Gio, Nha Be and District No.10.

Other southern localities recording high numbers of infections over 24 hours were Dong Nai (923), Binh Duong (619), Soc Trang (572), An Giang (557), and Dong Thap (379).

The capital of Hanoi surprisingly recorded 268 new cases, topping northern localities in infection numbers. It was followed by Ha Giang (127), Bac Ninh (46), Bac Giang (31), Phu Tho (26), and Nam Dinh (20).

As of 06pm on November 9 Vietnam has confirmed 984,805 COVID-19 cases since the start of the first outbreak in January 2020, ranking 38th out of 223 countries and territories worldwide.

Of the total, 842,800 patients have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease.

Vietnam has also recorded 22,686 deaths, making up 2.4% of the total number of infections. 

About 92.2 million vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, with 30.3 million people getting their second shot.

US donates gene sequencing machine to Bach Mai Hospital

Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi has received an Illumina gene sequencing machine donated by the United States.

Representative from Bach Mai Hospital receives an Illumina gene sequencing machine from Marie C. Damour, Chargé d’Affaires for the US Mission to Vietnam at the handover ceremony. (Photo: VTC News)
The Illumina DNA sequencer, funded by the US Department of Defense,  was handed over to the hospital on November 9 by Marie C. Damour, Chargé d’Affaires for the US Mission to Vietnam.

This marks one of two machines worth US$340,000 that have been given to the country by the US. Tthe first such machine was presented to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on October 19.

According to Dao Xuan Co, deputy director of Bach Mai Hospital, the medical device will enable the hospital to carry out the sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses. It will also sequence the gene of the virus in order to identify what strain it is and whether or not it mutates.

Meanwhike, Damour stated at the handover ceremony that the machine helps scientists develop new and more effective vaccines moving forward. She added that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will also support the facility in training and operating the new system.

Currently, the US is Vietnam’s largest vaccine donor, delivering more than 15 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility. It has also provided financial aid and equipment, such as ultra-low temperature freezers, ventilators, and laboratory supplies alongside technical expertise.

Positive outlook ahead for international tourism as recovery roadmap approved

The Government’s recent approval of a recovery roadmap to welcome back foreign visitors is considered a positive sign for the local tourism industry to get back on track from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the approved scheme, Kien Giang, Khanh Hoa, Quang Nam Da Nang and Quang Ninh which are home to international recognized tourist destinations are expected to receive foreign visitors on certain conditions, starting from November.

Though Ba Ria – Vung Tau is not among the five localities that are implementing the pilot scheme, Trinh Hang, director of the provincial Department of Tourism, said the locality will follow the move with keen interest to garner experience.

Ba Ria – Vung Tau will work closely with other localities, especially Ho Chi Minh City, in a bid to welcome back international visitors as soon as it is granted permission from the Government, he said.

Meanwhile, Binh Thuan, another locality in southern Vietnam, is also keen to receive back foreign travelers who bring back a large source of hard currency to local budget.

Many local travel operators, especially lodging facilities, have longed to welcome back foreign visitors, revealed Le Ngoc Ha, general director of Hoang Ngoc Resort in Phan Thiet City, adding the locality is working hard to get the nod from the Prime Minister. .

Ho Chi Minh City, the largest coronavirus hotspot in Vietnam, is also formulating a draft project aimed at welcoming back international tourists with vaccine passports in late 2021 and early 2022.

The city is planning international tourism promotions in December, a month earlier than scheduled. At present, several tourism businesses and foreign partners have been working together as part of efforts to design package tours for visitors.

Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, deputy general director of tour operator Vietravel, suggested along with a pilot plan to reopen the country to international visitors, there should also be additional schemes for Vietnamese people to travel to countries that are to recognize Vietnamese "vaccine passports".

Vietnam is receiving passengers on charter flights, which incurs higher costs for passengers. The move will make the price of tours for foreign guests higher compared to other destinations in the region, she explained.

Tourism businesses also suggested that there should be a wider communication campaign aimed at helping foreign visitors gain greater insights into the country’s reopening to international tourism, a move which has been deployed effectively in regional countries such as Thailand and Singapore.

Largest-ever book series about history of Hai Phong introduced

“Hai Phong History” – the largest-ever book series about the history of the northern port city of Hai Phong was introduced by the city Department of Science and Technology at a conference on November 9.

The series, comprising four volumes by various authors, covers the history of the city in the past nearly 20,000 years from the first traces of human found in the land to 2020.

Along with the printed version, the series is also available in pdf form on the city portal at https://haiphong.gov.vn/ and the city Department of Science and Technology’s portal at https://sokhcn.haiphong.gov.vn/.

Addressing the conference, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hai Phong Le Khac Nam said that with nearly 2,000 pages in total and a large number of photos, the book series highlights the historical values of the port city in a full and subjective manner.

The series are expected to meet the needs in research and study of local officials and residents, helping promote the pride of the land and responsibility in developing the sound tradition of the city, he said.

On the occasion, one collective and seven individuals were presented with the Certificates of Merit by the city People’s Committee for making outstanding contributions to the research and compilation of the book series./.

Appeal trial held for 12 defendants of TISCO-related case

The High People’s Court in Hanoi on November 9 opened a trial for 12 defendants who filed appeals in a case related to wrongdoings at Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel JSC (TISCO).

The defendants included Tran Trong Mung, former General Director of TISCO; Dau Van Hung, former General Director of Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNS); Do Xuan Hoa, former chief accountant of TISCO; Nguyen Trong Khoi, former Deputy General Director of VNS; Nguyen Chi Dung, Hoang Ngoc Diep and Doan Thu Trang who are all former members of the Board of Directors of TISCO.

They were charged with “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness” and “lacking sense of responsibility, causing serious consequences”.

Their appeals mostly focused on asking for a reduction of punishments and exemption of criminal responsibilities.

The court is scheduled to take place in four days. Dau Van Hung, former General Director of VNS asked for absence due to poor health conditions.

Earlier at the first-instance trial held in April 2021, the People’s Court of Hanoi sentenced Tran Trong Mung, former Director General of TISCO, to nine years and six months in prison for “violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing losses and wastefulness” under Clause 3, Article 219 of the 2015 Penal Code.

Meanwhile, five defendants were imprisoned for 18 months to two years and two given suspended sentences of 18 months each on the charge of lacking responsibility causing serious consequences.

Thirteen other defendants were given jail terms ranging from two to eight years and six months on the same charge.

The defendants were also ordered to pay compensation worth over 830 billion VND (36 million USD) in total to TISCO.

According to the indictment issued by the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the VNS Board of Directors decided to invest in the second phase of TISCO’s production expansion project which initially had total investment of more than 3.8 trillion VND (164.9 million USD at the current exchange rate). The China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC) won the construction bid in 2007.

On July 12, 2007, then TISCO General Director Tran Trong Mung and MCC General Director Shen Heting signed an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract worth over 160 million USD (equivalent to over 3.5 trillion VND). It was stipulated that the value, including taxes and expenses necessary for contract implementation, was to not change during the implementation process.

TISCO and MCC launched implementation on September 29, 2007. However, more than 11 months after the contract took effect, MCC had failed to select or sign contracts with subcontractors, or carry out the EPC contract. Instead, it proposed extending the contract implementation duration and raising the contract value by more than 138 million USD.

The indictment said that although individuals at TISCO and VNS were aware that MCC had infringed the contract and groundlessly proposed the implementation extension and value hike, they did not consider contract termination, revocation of the advance, or reporting the matter to competent persons to abolish the bidding result and re-organise the bidding process so as to ensure the project’s effectiveness and progress.

Among the defendants, Mung held the overall responsibility for the project’s effectiveness while Tinh was in charge of approving and directing project implementation.

The Supreme People’s Procuracy held that the violations of rules on the management of State assets and the lack of a sense of responsibility by those at TISCO and VNS caused losses of over 830 billion VND to the State. The sum is the interest rate TISCO had to pay to banks for the period from the time the project began falling behind schedule, on May 31, 2011, to the date an official investigation was launched, on April 18, 2019.

The defendants’ criminal acts not only adversely affected economic development and had a direct negative impact on production and business activities and the interests of employees at TISCO, they also indirectly affected the process of promoting rapid and sustainable economic development, becoming a burden on the national economy and causing a loss of trust in society./.

‘Banh mi’ strong rival of burger: Le Monde

 

It is simple, relatively balanced, inexpensive and, above all, tasty, ‘banh mi’, a Vietnamese-style sandwich, is a strong rival of the American burger, France’s daily newspaper Le Monde told its readers in a gastronomy column published last week.
 
It is based on a simple base that you immediately want to bite into: a baguette cut in half, copiously garnished with pieces of cooked meat, garnished with condiments, raw vegetables and sprinkled with fresh cilantro, described the column entitled “Can the ‘banh mi’ replace the burger?”

The ‘banh mi’ is a sandwich with variable geometry that offers multiple possibilities, it said. The most traditional recipes include preparations made from pork belly (sometimes grilled, sometimes dried or steamed), lemongrass chicken or minced pork meatballs.

The most elaborate, also called "dac biet" (house specialty), offers a range of flavors ranging from ‘cha lua’ (Vietnamese pork sausage) to paté, rolled pork belly, Le Monde continued, adding that the significant amount of vegetables it contains, including carrots, cucumbers, make its nutritional value relatively acceptable.

The trajectory of the ‘banh mi’ is fascinating that it tells the richness and the character of Vietnamese cuisine which, through the diaspora scattered all over the world, in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Nice or Marseille, has never stopped reinventing itself, the newspaper noted./.

Lawmakers discuss communication work in COVID-19 fight

Lawmakers highlighted the role of information and communications in the fight against COVID-19 and economic development during the ongoing second session of the 15th National Assembly in Hanoi on November 9.

Deputy Pham Nam Tien from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong cited a survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) as saying that since mid-March, information and communications has been one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic. A number of news outlets were forced to scale off or suspend the production of print papers.

In the fight against the pandemic, he noted that fake and untruthful news on social media also spread like an epidemic in an uncontrolled manner, resulting in public misunderstandings. Several localities failed to perform well in communication work when issuing guiding documents, making it hard for residents to promptly adapt to the pandemic.

Deputy Dang Xuan Phuong representing the central province of Nghe An suggested that the Government’s report should add assessments on the efficiency of information and communication work. He proposed the Government issue a communication strategy for the long-term fight against the pandemic and economic recovery. The Party’s guidelines and State’s policies should be conveyed to the public in the quickest way via clear and succinct messages, he said.

Opinions also called for reaching consensus on the use of only one app for anti-pandemic activities nationwide.

Deputy Nguyen Hai Trung, Director of the Hanoi Public Security, said the sector put into operation the national population database this year and issued 50 million chip-based ID cards for citizens, which proved efficiency in the fight against the pandemic, especially in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and southern localities.

In accordance with the Government’s Resolution No.128/NQ-CP, the national population database has been connected with the database on vaccinated, tested and COVID-19-infected residents, making it easier for managing their travelling and fighting the pandemic.

The Minister of Public Security and the Secretary of the Hanoi municipal Party Committee also agreed to control those to and from the football match between Vietnam and Japan at My Dinh national stadium on November 11 based on ID cards incorporated with vaccination database./.

Int’l conference discusses infodemic in COVID-19 context

An international conference titled ‘Managing the Infodemic in the Context of the COVID-19 pandemic’ was held on November 9.

The event was jointly organised by the Academy of Journalism and Communication (AJC), the Nhan dan (People) newspaper and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

‘Infodemic’ appeared along with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic across the globe, causing difficulties for the implementation of prevention and control measures, heard the event.

During two sessions, participants discussed infodemic in the context of COVID-19; shared experience, ideas and solutions to enhance effective communications on the pandemic; improve the role of the press; efforts to counter misinformation and bolster new technology application.

Editor-in-Chief of Nhan dan newspaper Le Quoc Minh underscored the role of information verification, adding that it must be viewed as social and professional responsibility of press agencies. He called on the agencies to step up technology investment to support such tasks.

KOICA Director-General Cho Han-deog said the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an information crisis that is detrimental to people’s trust in social institutions. It is not a problem of a single nation and requires suitable, timely and innovative solutions, he added.

The event was part of international scientific conferences co-held by the AJC, KOICA and press agencies from 2016, which also help experts of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea share experiences and solutions in the field./.

Mass evacuation plans in the pipeline as heavy rain lashes central Vietnam

Authorities have devised plans to evacuate as many as 370,000 residents from low-lying and mountainous areas as heavy rain is threatening to cause severe flooding and landslides in the central region.

Central localities from Thua Thien-Hue to Binh Dinh endured a spell of heavy rain on November 8, with rainfall climbing as high as 150-300mm. Several areas in Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh even recorded approximately 400mm of rainfall.

Torrential rain triggered water levels in major rivers in the central region to surpass the second alert level and is likely to approach the third alert level in coming days, said Hoang Phuc Lam, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at a meeting on November 9.

Pouring rain is expected to continue to beat central provinces from November 9-14 that will threaten to cause flooding and landslides in mountainous and low-lying areas as well as along rivers, warned the weather expert.

Tran Quang Hoai, deputy head of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, noted the situation “remains complicated” in the central region, especially after local provinces experienced flooding in October 2021.

He requested localities to make mass evacuation plans and put forces on standby in order to minimize damage caused by floods in the coming week.

According to Hoai, localities should evacuate 260,000 residents from flood-prone areas and 110,000 residents from landslide-prone areas in case river water levels exceed the third alert level.

People should be provided with essential needs if flooding lasts long, said Hoai.

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