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HCM City to implement third relief package worth 7.3 trillion VND Ho Chi Minh City will carry out the third relief package worth 7.3 trillion VND (around 320.7 million USD) sourced from the local budget to help more households and informal workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee. Speaking at a press conference held by the city’s Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on September 20, Hoan said given complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city and prolonged social distancing, people face more difficulties due to job loss and having no income. Therefore, in addition to the social security relief packages of the city's Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee and other organisations and individuals, the municipal People's Committee continues to implement the third relief package to help ease difficulties for local residents. According to reports from the People's Committees of …

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Lam Van Thanh, Chairman of Kien Giang Province, where Phu Quoc is located, said that by the end of October, the island would not have ensured necessary conditions to carry out its planned tourism reopening plan. He said only 35.2 percent of people aged 18 and above have got a first shot and just 6.13 percent of residents have been fully vaccinated. The island needs another 250,000-300,000 doses to achieve herd immunity, but recent allocation has also been low, while the stipulated time between two doses of a Covid vaccine is 4 to 8 weeks, depending. Even if the amount of needed vaccine doses was allocated right now, it would take around two months for Phu Quoc to achieve vaccination coverage for 90 percent of its population, Thanh said. He emphasized: "The province will reopen international tourism when pandemic prevention measures are ensured at highest level. It will not sacrifice the health and lives of people for economic growth." Therefore, while local authorities are …

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A medical worker takes a sample from a resident in Hà Nội's Hai Bà Trưng District for COVID-19 testing. — VNA/VNS Photo HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam reported 11,527 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, including 11,525 locally transmitted and two imported cases, according to the Ministry of Health. The new infections bring the country's total tally to 718,963. HCM City is still the hardest hit with 5,435 new cases, followed by the southern provinces of Bình Dương (4,179) and Đồng Nai (930). The capital city of Hà Nội recorded seven new infections. The rest cases are in Long An (191), An Giang (186), Kiên Giang (137), Tiền Giang (89), Cần Thơ (48), Tây Ninh (48), Bình Định (43), Bình Phước (26), Khánh Hòa (21), Đắk Nông (20), Hà Nam (20), Quảng Bình (19), Đồng Tháp (18), Ninh Thuận (15), Phú Yên (14), Đà Nẵng (10), Bình Thuận (9), Thừa Thiên Huế (9), Quảng Trị (9), Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu (8 ), Bạc Liêu (8 ), Quảng Ngãi (6), Trà Vinh (4), Lâm Đồng (3), Bến Tre …

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Director of the municipal Department of Foreign Affairs Huynh Duc Truong said over 4,800 foreigners and overseas Vietnamese with different nationalities living in the city. According to the official, many of them, including those work at foreign consulates general, industrial parks, and non-governmental organisations, among others, have received their first jabs. As of August 30, the department’s hotlines received 180 calls, emails, and texts from foreigners , mostly asking for assistance in purchasing food, necessities, and medicines; in travelling to vaccination sites; and in making appointments related to health checkups and visa extension, among others. Prompt support has been delivered to them./. VNA …

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Hanoi-based enterprises and experts shared with The Hanoi Times about their initiatives to ensure smooth operation with anti-pandemic prevention measures in place. Do Thanh Tam, Deputy General Director of Son Ha Group: Uniting to overcome challenges Do Thanh Tam, Deputy General Director of Son Ha Group. HNT Photos: Hoang Anh As Hanoi's authorities have eased the anti-pandemic restrictions, we have built safe operation plans at production facilities, which strictly complied with the 5K protocol (in Vietnamese) Khau tran g (facemask) - Khu khuan (disinfection) - Khoang cach (distance) - Khong tu tap (No gathering) - Khai bao y te (health declaration). We also tightened the implementation of anti-disease measures according to the Prime Minister's Directive. The “three on-site”option continues to be applied at some factories in high-risk areas to ensure the safety of all employees as well as uninterrupted production activities. Logistics units …

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Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The ADB has revised down Vietnam's 2021 GDP growth forecast from 6.7 percent to 3.8 percent due to a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic that has tightened the labour market, lowered industrial output, and disrupted agricultural value chains, according to a report released by the bank on September 22. At a virtual press conference, ADB country director Andrew Jeffries said the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and extended lockdowns have weakened consumption and investment, hampering Vietnam’s growth prospects. “But the Vietnamese economy will bounce back if the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control by the end of 2021 and 70 percent of the country’s population are vaccinated by the second quarter of 2022," he said. ADB remains bullish on the country’s prospects in the medium and long term. Growth could be aided by a revival of domestic demand, an acceleration in the disbursement of public investment, and an expansion to new export …

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The government has accepted a disclaimer for claims related to vaccines and vaccine use as part of the contract, according to a decree issued Tuesday. The Health Ministry will make the purchase. The signing of the contract and the settling of related disputes will be governed by the laws of China. Vietnam has received around 45 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to date, of which Vero Cell, produced by Chinese company Sinopharm, accounts for around 20 million doses. The country has administered 35.6 million Covid-19 doses as of Wednesday. At 6.9 million people, 7.2 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated against the targeted 70 percent. …

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As the capital relaxed its coronavirus restrictions starting Tuesday, thousands of residents flooded the streets at night to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Streams of vehicles closely packed together could be seen on downtown streets like Trang Thi, Dinh Tien Hoang and Ly Thai To. "If there was any person infected with the Delta variant among the crowds in Hanoi last night, transmission is extremely likely. Once it happens, authorities would find it difficult to contact trace, as they have no idea who's made contact with whom," said Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor at the Public Health Emergency Operations Center. While the capital city authorities had advised people to only go out if necessary despite the relaxed restrictions, the gathering large crowds like Tuesday night without adequate coronavirus control measures may severely impact efforts to fight Covid-19. Even if most people were wearing masks, close proximity can still allow infections to happen, Phu said. However, he …

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Many restaurants in Hanoi cleaned up overnight to prepare for their business resumption after more than 50 days of lockdown. Photo: Duc Thanh Since early September, Ho Chi Minh City has allowed food and beverage (F&B) businesses to provide takeaway services from 6am to 6pm. To ensure that pandemic prevention measures are met, the city has requested such businesses to also apply the stay-at-work model, with continuous coronavirus tests for their staff every two days. Despite the green light, many F&B businesses in the city remain careful. Harry Ang, founder of the Singaporean restaurant chain Lion City told VIR, “It’s a good decision to extend the lockdown and utilise more time for planning the next steps to prevent another outbreak. We have been preparing well, as we know that life will never be the same again. All plans have to be carefully executed according to prevention protocols.” He added that he agrees with the local authorities on COVID-19 tests as a good way …

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Manufacturers spread thin trying to reach capacity, Illustration photo After almost 70 days of halting production, Trung Son Corporation’s factory in Tan Tao Industrial Zone based in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Tan district has resumed production at 10 per cent capacity. Deputy general director Le Minh Tam said that even if the pandemic is managed and the economy runs as usual, the factory’s capacity will be able to reach only about 50 per cent. “The number of available workers is not as abundant as before the pandemic started,” said Tam. “There were 900 workers in the factory but 300 of them were infected with coronavirus during July and August and the remaining had to be isolated, making them worried and upset.” After receiving treatment, many of them left the city to go back to their hometowns. Tam said that the prolonged problems mean the links between the factory and workers is gradually being fragmented, even though the corporation still pays minimum wage and supports …

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