People choose food products at a Saigon Co.op supermarket in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo To strengthen food safety, HCM City’s Food Safety and Hygiene Management Board will closely monitor foods sold by retailers to ensure customers buy products with clear origin. City authorities are also encouraging consumers to buy products with clear labels on origin. The board, the city Department of Industry and Trade, and supermarkets and convenience stores have been instructed to keep strict control over food quality. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, head of the board, said food production, processing, distribution, and import-export establishments would be closely monitored. "Consumers like to buy food at traditional markets because they may be cheaper" but some products lack clear origins, she said. "Upgrading food quality in traditional markets and enhancing modern distribution systems is essential." Enterprises must comply with food safety regulations, work with the board to carry out … [Read more...] about HCM City strengthens food quality control
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HCM City office market coming out of slump: property consultancies
The lobby of OfficeHaus in Tan Phu District, HCM City. The city's office market recovers after two years being affected by COVID-19 pandemic. — Photo courtesy of OfficeHaus After a two-year slump due to COVID-19, the HCM City office for lease market is showing positive signs with demand increasing in all segments. A CBRE report said there was good recovery in the office market with total net absorption in the first quarter of 17,000 square metres (sq.m), equivalent to 32 per cent in 2021. Relocation accounted for 55 per cent of the transactions, lease renewal for 25 per cent and expansion for 20 per cent, it said. There were transactions for large areas in some high-quality grade B buildings in both the CBD and other hubs such as Thu Thiem new urban area, District 7 and District 10, the company said. Savills said demand for office space was 16,500sq.m compared to just 1,500sq.m in the fourth quarter of 2021. It partly attributed the increase to the city’s post-pandemic … [Read more...] about HCM City office market coming out of slump: property consultancies
Ministry tells HCM City to reconsider discriminatory customs fee
The vastly different seaport fees for businesses making their declaration in HCM City and elsewhere is causing frustration to many of them. — Photo vov.vn The Ministry of Finance has called on HCM City to reconsider its collection of customs declaration fee from businesses. It said the fee is discriminatory, citing complaints by import-export companies in Dong Nai Province that they have to pay double if they make declarations locally for goods they ship through HCM City. For goods declared in HCM City, the rates ranges from VND15,000 (US$0.65) to VND500,000, exactly half the rates of declarations made elsewhere. The ministry said the disparities have significant consequences for both enterprises and the economy. It urged the city People's Committee to soon ask the People's Council to amend the fees to create a level playing field for all businesses in accordance with the laws. Since April 1, the city has been collecting port infrastructure fees. For goods imported for … [Read more...] about Ministry tells HCM City to reconsider discriminatory customs fee
1,895 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday
A child receives a COVID-19 vaccine dose in the northern province of Thái Bình. — VNA/VNS Photo Thế Duyệt HÀ NỘI — A total of 1,895 new COVID-19 infections were detected on Saturday, the first time Việt Nam has registered less than 2,000 cases in a single daily update since July 11 last year. The latest numbers bring the total national caseload to 10,695,036 so far. All the new infections were domestic. A total of 1,585 new transmissions were detected in the community. The capital city of Hà Nội continued to record the highest number of infections with 489, followed by Nghệ An with 115. The other cases were found in Quảng Ninh (95), Vĩnh Phúc (92), Phú Thọ (92), Yên Bái (86), Tuyên Quang (81), Thái Bình (66), Quảng Bình (54), Bắc Kạn (52), Lào Cai (51), Thái Nguyên (47), HCM City (45), Hà Nam (41), Lâm Đồng (38), Lai Châu (34), Nam Định (30), Đà Nẵng (27), Lạng Sơn (26), Ninh Bình (24), Hưng Yên (22), Hà Tĩnh (22), Đắk Nông (22), Hải Phòng (22), Bình Dương (22), Sơn La (21), … [Read more...] about 1,895 new COVID-19 cases reported on Saturday
South Korean and Japanese streets still quiet in HCM City
Many streets home to Japanese and South Korean restaurants and shops in HCM City are still quiet although the city has fully reopened after successfully containing the Covid-19 pandemic. A Japanese restaurant in District 1 While the Bui Vien Street in HCM City's District 1 which is a popular nightlife place for foreign tourists has quickly revived after local restaurants, bars and clubs were allowed to resume operation two months ago, some areas home to Japanese and South Korean communities in District 1 and District 7 remain quiet with many closed shops and restaurants. The Japanese area runs some 300 metres on Le Thanh Tong Street in District 1. Formed in the early 2000s with the openings of just a few Japanese restaurants, the street soon became busy with hundreds of restaurants, bars and massage venues serving Japanese foods and products until it was suspended for Covid-19 pandemic prevention activities in 2021. Since then, many shops have been closed … [Read more...] about South Korean and Japanese streets still quiet in HCM City
HCM City to offer fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses next week
Ho Chi Minh City is expected to start offering fourth doses of COVID-19 vaccines to residents next week, according to Nguyen Hoai Nam, deputy director of the Municipal Department of Health. Priority will be given to more than 1.8 million people aged 50 years or older, Nam said on May 13 while meeting with voters in Districts No7 and Nha Be. The fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot will mostly be administered to elderly and high-risk populations. These booster shots will also be given to people aged 18 years or older with moderate to severe immunodeficiency or belonging to a group at high risk of exposure to COVID-19 such as healthcare workers, frontline workers, and people working in industrial parks. The city will arrange mobile vaccination venues besides hospitals and injection sites. Vaccines to be used will be the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca. Several day ago the Ministry of Health requested localities to work out a vaccination plan for the fourth doses to be … [Read more...] about HCM City to offer fourth COVID-19 vaccine doses next week
Việt Nam gears up for rollout of fourth COVID-19 vaccine shots
Elderly people in Tây Mỗ Ward, Nam Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội receive COVID-19 vaccines in early 2022. Seniors are set to be the first to get the fourth vaccine shots in the upcoming rollout. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu HÀ NỘI — The Vietnamese health ministry has asked provincial/municipal health departments to provide the tentative number of vaccines needed for the rollout of second COVID-19 booster shots (fourth doses) before May 25, 2022. The second boosters will for now be for adults over 50 years, or people from 18 years old with immunocompromised conditions from mild to severe level, or people from 18 years old who are at risk of exposure to the virus (frontline healthcare workers, officials, and workers at industrial parks, etc.). The latest document was sent to local health departments, health department of the public security ministry, and the military medicine department, Pasteur institutes and the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE). mRNA COVID-19 … [Read more...] about Việt Nam gears up for rollout of fourth COVID-19 vaccine shots
PM Chính thanks UNICEF for help in Việt Nam’s successful COVID-19 vaccination rollout
Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính meets UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel in New York on May 16 (US time). — Photo from the Việt Nam Government Portal NEW YORK — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính said Việt Nam cherished cooperation with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) over the past 40 years and its contributions to global efforts protecting and caring for children. He made the remarks while meeting with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel in New York on May 16 (local time) as part of his trip to the US. The Vietnamese PM noted that from a sole recipient of humanitarian assistance, Việt Nam had become a trusted partner of the UN and UNICEF on many fronts. Việt Nam supported UNICEF Strategic Plan for 2022-25 towards 2030, including the emphasis on children’s rights such as every child has the right to study and life skills, to be protected from abuse and violence, to get access to clean water, hygiene and safe environment, etc. – all of which are also the goals … [Read more...] about PM Chính thanks UNICEF for help in Việt Nam’s successful COVID-19 vaccination rollout
HCMC plans to provide fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose
An old people gets vaccinated against Covid-19 at Le Van Thinh Hospital in Thu Duc City. The rollout is aimed at the highest risk groups, including people aged 50 and older (around 1.8 million people), those aged above 18 with immunodeficiency, and specific groups at risk. According to the document, Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines have been approved for fourth booster shots . The program aims to protect people who are coming on four months since their first booster (the third shot) and recovered Covid-19 patients who had a third dose. The People’s Committees of wards, communes, and towns must submit lists of those who should get priority access to a vaccine. The vaccine program will be kicked off right after receiving Covid-19 vaccines from the Ministry of Health. By Quang Huy – Translated by Kim Khanh … [Read more...] about HCMC plans to provide fourth Covid-19 vaccine dose
North Korea’s Kim orders military to stabilise supply of COVID-19 drugs
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