Confirmation sunday

An additional 1,319 new Covid-19 infections were confirmed on Sunday, raising the national tally to over 10.70 million, according to the Ministry of Health. According to the ministry's report, most of the new patients are locally-transmitted cases confirmed in 33 out of 63 localities in the country with some localities seeing the highest numbers including Hanoi (347), Bac Ninh (138), Vinh Phuc (90), Nghe An (82), and Yen Bai (61). As of Sunday evening, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to over 10.70 million. The country now stands 12th among 227 countries and territories worldwide in the number of infections. On May 22, an additional 8,940 more patients recovered from the disease, raising the number of recoveries in the country to over 9.40 million. On Sunday evening, no deaths related to Covid-19 was announced, keeping the total fatalities unchanged at 43,075. By May 21, the country had injected more than 219 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, … [Read more...] about Vietnam reports additional 1,319 Covid-19 infections on Sunday

Easing weeks of punishing restrictions in the commercial hub would bring relief to China's battered economy, although there is growing concern that Beijing may yet take a similar course of action if it fails to get a nascent outbreak under control. Shanghai's deputy mayor, Wu Qing, said the city of 25 million aims to eliminate Covid outside of quarantined zones within the next week or so. After that, the city's lockdown will be "lifted in batches", with shops opened and traffic restictions eased, he said in the announcement which confirmed a Reuters story from Sunday. The vast majority of Shanghai's more than 2,000 new cases are in areas already under the tightest controls, while those found in the relatively freer communities are the ones most closely watched for clues as to where Shanghai's outbreak is heading. The number of such cases rose to four on May 12, up from two the previous day. Last week, some of Shanghai's residents were allowed outside their housing compounds … [Read more...] about Shanghai aims to defeat Covid over next week as Beijing hunkers down

Vietnam will remove the pre-entry COVID-19 test requirements for all foreign arrivals starting Sunday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed. The direction, effective at 0:00 on May 15, comes as the numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths drop both in Vietnam and around the world. In a dispatch issued on Friday, the PM cited the World Health Organization as announcing that the COVID-19 pandemic has tended to reduce in both patient numbers and fatalities on a global scale and that basic vaccines are still effective against variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In such context, many countries have been taking steps to ease COVID-19 restrictions, including removal of pre-entry testing, the document said. PM Chinh requested the Ministry of Health to closely monitor the epidemic situation and provide timely and appropriate instructions. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must direct Vietnamese agencies abroad to ask people wishing to enter Vietnam to comply with epidemic … [Read more...] about Vietnam to lift pre-entry COVID-19 test requirements for entrants on May 15

North Korea said on Sunday a total of 42 people had died as the country began its fourth day under a nationwide lockdown aimed at stopping the country's first confirmed COVID-19 outbreak. North Korea's admission on Thursday that it is battling an "explosive" COVID-19 outbreak has raised concerns that the virus could devastate a country with an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities and no vaccine programme. State news agency KCNA said the country was taking "swift state emergency measures" to control the epidemic, but there is no sign that Pyongyang was moving to accept international offers of vaccines. "All provinces, cities and counties of the country have been totally locked down and working units, production units and residential units closed from each other since the morning of May 12 and strict and intensive examination of all the people is being conducted," KCNA reported on Sunday. A day earlier North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the spread of … [Read more...] about North Korea reports more deaths, says taking ‘swift measures’ against COVID outbreak

North Korea's admission on Thursday that it is battling an "explosive" Covid-19 outbreak has raised concerns that the virus could devastate a country with an under-resourced health system, limited testing capabilities and no vaccine programme. State news agency KCNA said the country was taking "swift state emergency measures" to control the epidemic, but there is no sign that Pyongyang was moving to accept international offers of vaccines. "All provinces, cities and counties of the country have been totally locked down and working units, production units and residential units closed from each other since the morning of May 12 and strict and intensive examination of all the people is being conducted," KCNA reported on Sunday. A day earlier North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the spread of Covid-19 had thrust his country into "great turmoil" and called for an all-out battle to overcome the outbreak. Despite the lockdowns, Kim and other senior officials on Saturday attended … [Read more...] about North Korea reports more deaths, says taking ‘swift measures’ against Covid outbreak

The number of new Covid-19 infections continued to drop with 1,594 cases recorded on Sunday, down 301 cases from the previous day, according to the Ministry of Health. According to the ministry's report, most of the new patients are locally-transmitted cases confirmed in 53 out of 63 localities in the country with some localities seeing the highest numbers including Hanoi (461), Quang Ninh (88), Nghe An (80), and Yen Bai 80. As of Sunday evening, the number of Covid-19 patients in Vietnam has increased to over 10.70 million. The country now stands 12th among 227 countries and territories worldwide in the number of infections. On May 15, an additional 5,448 more patients recovered from the disease, raising the number of recoveries in the country to over 9.35 million. On Sunday evening, no death related to Covid-19 was announced, total fatalities stayed at 43,065. By May 14, the country had injected nearly 217 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, including over 2.50 million … [Read more...] about Vietnam continues seeing falling daily Covid-19 infections, no death

Thailand (blue) will meet the Philippines in the semi–finals, after a 5-0 win over Laos. VNA/VNS Photo Anh Tuấn HOÀNG HỒ QUẢNG NINH — After the final matches of Group B on May 15 in Cẩm Phả Stadium, Việt Nam's women's football team will face Myanmar in the semi-finals. The late match on Sunday saw Thailand smash bottom-side Laos 5-0 to go top of Group B, while Mynamar’s 1-0 win against Singapore secured them second place in the table. Facing the mighty Thailand with nothing to lose and with a boisterous fan base to cheer them on, Laos kept the Thais on their toes in the opening minutes, with clever link-up play from both wings. However, due to the enormous gap between the two, the women in red couldn’t maintain momentum, as Thailand started to impose their dominance on possession, marked by their first goal in the 17th minute. From a Thai cross from the left-wing, Laos’ defender Minivanh Bounthan cleared the ball with her head. The ball went straight to Thailand’s number … [Read more...] about Việt Nam face Myanmar, Thailand take on Philippines in women’s football semi–final

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has issued 14 million ‘COVID-19 vaccine passports’ to the general public since April 15. A month after its official rollout, the passport is now available on the national COVID-19 app PC-Covid and the Digital Health app. It has 11 fields of information: name, date of birth, nationality, the targeted disease, doses of vaccines received, date of vaccination, lot number of the vaccine batch, type of vaccine, vaccine product received, the vaccine manufacturer, and a code for the certification. Information on the targeted disease, vaccine, vaccine product or manufacturer is compatible with the values provided in the World Health Organization’s 'COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker and Landscape' and the 'Value Sets for EU Digital COVID Certificates' issued by the European Union. Data is stored in a QR code, which will expire after 12 months. Following their expiration, users will be notified and a new QR code will be created. People who do not have the … [Read more...] about Vietnam issues 14 million ‘COVID-19 vaccine passports’

Leader Kim Jong Un has ordered North Korea's military to stabilise distribution of COVID-19 medicines in the capital, Pyongyang, in the battle on the country's first confirmed outbreak of the disease, state media said. Last week brought the North's first acknowledgment of an "explosive" outbreak, with experts warning it could wreak devastation in a country with limited medical supplies and no vaccine programme. Drugs procured by the state were not reaching people in a timely and accurate way, Kim told an emergency politburo meeting on Sunday, before visiting pharmacies near the capital's Taedong River, state news agency KCNA said. Kim ordered immediate deployment of the "powerful forces" of the army's medical corps to "stabilise the supply of medicines in Pyongyang City," it added. Although authorities had ordered distribution of national reserves of medicine, pharmacies were not well-equipped to perform their functions smoothly, Kim added, the agency said. Among their … [Read more...] about North Korea’s Kim orders military to stabilise supply of COVID-19 drugs

A tourist died after falling off a cruise ship as it was approaching a port in Ha Long Bay, a famous destination in northern Vietnam, last weekend. The People’s Committee in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province confirmed on Sunday that local units had found the body of Nguyen Ngoc Phat, 43, a visitor from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. Phat was among the 15 passengers who boarded the Long Giang cruise ship in Ha Long Bay on Saturday. The ship, which has a capacity of 48 passengers, was steered by captain Tran Duy Cuong, 39, a resident of Ha Long. At around 5:00 pm that day, the boat was carrying the tourists from Sung Sot Cave back to the mainland. As they were approaching the port, the captain checked the CCTV and noticed that a passenger had fallen into the water. The victim was standing near the bow of the ship prior to the accident. Other passengers tried to help the victim by throwing lifebuoys into the water, but he was unable to grab them due to strong currents … [Read more...] about Tourist dies after falling off cruise ship in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay