Increasing covid 19 cases

Vietnam confirmed an additional 9,472 Covid-19 infections on Thursday and 6,226 patients were discharged from hospital following their recovery the same day, according to the Ministry of Health. Health workers take samples for Covid-19 testing in Hanoi According to the ministry's report, 9,465 of the new patients are locally-transmitted cases confirmed in 33 localities including HCM City (5,052), Binh Duong (2,764), Dong Nai (760), Long An (190), Kien Giang (163), An Giang (109), and Tay Ninh (86). There were seven imported patients confirmed today. The new infection number showed a decrease of 2,060 cases compared to yesterday's figure. There were 5,344 infections found in the community. As of Thursday evening, 723,962 infections have been reported since the new outbreak occurred in the country in late April, with some southern localities recording high infections such as HCM City (358,707), Binh Duong (190,257), Dong Nai (43,122), Long An …

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Speaking at a meeting Thursday with the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, he said authorities need to modify their coronavirus fighting strategies as situations evolve, and underlined the importance of factors like the economy, technology, socio-political stability, vaccines, and public behavior in the fight. While infection and death rates have been dropping in the last two weeks, the situation remains difficult in Ho Chi Minh City, with weak control measures in some areas, slow speed of testing and failure to provide comprehensive relief, he said. The most vulnerable segment of the population comprises people aged 50 and above, who have accounted for 85 percent of Covid deaths, while the places with the highest risk are major cities, industrial zones and others with a high population density, he said. If the two major metropolises, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, manage to contain the virus, the rest of the country would follow suit, he said. With …

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According to a new decision by the HCMC People's Committee, from Sept. 24- 30, delivery businesses using technology applications will have to carry out rapid Covid-19 tests for shippers, collecting samples of three persons at random every three days, and then update the results onto the city's general database. The decision offers two options. In the first option, the Department of Health will provide free testing kits and businesses will have people trained to do the testing of their drivers. The second one will be a paid service contract between businesses and medical facilities providing the service. On the evening of Sept. 21, Be was the first platform to confirm their plan. Its shippers would go to contracted testing points and access rapid testing provided flexibly during the day. The test would take one minute per person and results would be available in 30 minutes. Other platforms said they were still preparing their plans. Grab and ShopeeFood said they were working …

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A beach in Phú Quốc before the COVID-19 pandemic. — VNA/VNS Photo Trường Giang PHÚ QUỐC — A new COVID-19 outbreak on Phú Quốc Island will not affect plans to reopen the destination to international visitors from November, local authorities announced on Thursday. The island, which is located off the southern coast of Việt Nam, was a major international tourist destination before the COVID-19 pandemic. Phú Quốc will once again begin receiving foreign tourists, providing they are fully vaccinated, from November this year. The latest COVID-19 cluster on Phú Quốc was discovered just a few hours after social distancing measures were relaxed on September 20. At least 16 more cases have been reported since. Vice chairman of Kiên Giang People’s Committee, Nguyễn Lưu Trung, said the authorities have conducted isolation, tracing and quarantine work to prevent the spread of the virus. The Vice chairman said the province, with approval from the Government, will continue with the plan to …

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7.3 million people in HCM City to receive COVID relief Hà Nội ready to co-exist with COVID-19 pandemic City to allow employees with green cards to return to work at state-owned companies Health Ministry asked to study two COVID-19 treatment methods to reduce mortality Health ministry allows shortening interval of two AstraZeneca vaccine doses Patients at field hospital No.1 in Thủ Đức City celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. — VNA/VNS Photo Đinh Hằng HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Health plans to reduce the number of COVID-19 quarantine and treatment facilities as the number of patients discharged and being treated at home is increasing. It will maintain the field hospitals in Củ Chi and Cần Giờ districts to treat slightly sick patients and integrate several field hospitals including Nos. 13, 14 and 16 with facilities set up to admit moderate and severe cases. But the existing infrastructure at facilities run by Bạch Mai, Việt Đức and Huế …

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The Ministry of Health logged 9,472 in Vietnam on Thursday, together with 6,226 discharged patients and 236 deaths. Thirty-three provinces and cities recorded 9,465 domestic cases while the country recorded another seven imported infections, the health ministry said. The ministry had documented 11,525 locally-infected patients on Wednesday. Above 5,300 of the latest domestic cases were found in the community, with the remaining detected in sectioned-off areas or centralized quarantine facilities. Ho Chi Minh City reported 5,052 local infections, down by 383 patients from yesterday; Binh Duong Province 2,764, down by 1,415; Dong Nai Province 760; Long An Province 190; Kien Giang Province 163; An Giang Province 109; Can Tho City 53; Hanoi five; and Da Nang three. Vietnam has confirmed 723,962 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities since the fourth – and worst – virus wave emerged in the country on April 27. Ho Chi Minh City tops the list with …

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The amended 2020 Investment Law is expected to expand housing supply. According to the HCM City Real Estate Association (HOREA), the total number of housing projects approved by the HCM City People’s Committee has been decreasing in the last five years, from 130 in 2016 and 2017, to 122 in 2018, to 22 in 2019, and to 53 in 2020. The total number of housing products created on the basis of capital mobilization has fallen sharply over the last three years (34.2 percent in 2018, 46.8 percent in 2019 and 60.7 percent in 2020 compared with 2017). One of the reasons behind the fall is the regulation on investor recognition, which makes it difficult for owners to implement projects. Clause 4, Article 23 of 2014 Housing Law stipulates that only investors with 100 percent of residential land-use rights are recognized as the owners of commercial housing projects. In HCM City, in 2015-2020, 126 projects used mixed types of land, not 100 percent of residential land, so the investors …

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Ha Noi resident Khanh Ngoc turns a two square metre balcony in her apartment into a vegetable garden for her family when the city applies social distancing. — Photo courtesy of Khanh Ngoc More than a month since Ha Noi implemented social distancing, Khanh Ngoc turned a small balcony in her apartment into a vegetable garden for her family. Calling it her “cloud garden”, Ngoc said she paid about VND2 million (US$93) to install the garden in her 8th-floor apartment in Thanh Xuan District. Ngoc told Viet Nam News : “I grow some spinach, onions and some herbs like coriander. Every morning, my husband waters the plants and picks them, and in the afternoon I work on the soil. We learned how to use fertiliser and water, so vegetables grow very quickly.” Since the end of July when a lot of the city's residents were encouraged to stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, they took advantage of balconies, front yards and even rooftops to be able to provide vegetables for their families. …

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