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COVID-19: No tolerance policy for illegal immigrants

by vov.vn

Whilst it is natural to be wary of undergoing the quarantine process, it remains vial to not harm or undermine the efforts of the community and country, Deputy PM Dam said during an ongoing conference held between the Government and centrally-run localities in Hanoi.

This comes after a group of six Vietnamese people illegally entered the nation through the border with Cambodia on December 24. Upon their detection, four of the individuals have since tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, while hundreds of people who came into contact with these cases have been placed into quarantine for medical surveillance.

With the source of virus infections mainly coming from outside the country, it remains vital for the nation to tighten its management of borders, according to the Deputy PM. In line with this, it is also important to set up a system so people can provide information regarding illegal entries.

The Deputy PM also pointed out that concentrated quarantine work has not been carried out in a serious manner in several localities following a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection being detected at a quarantine facility in Ho Chi Minh City last month.

According to the Deputy PM, those who complete their 14-day quarantine period as regulated will also have to self-isolate and undergo medical observation at home to ensure they are free of COVID-19.

“Even though we have vaccines, we are unlikely to carry out a massive vaccination campaign until the summer of 2021,” Deputy PM Dam warned. “We have no other choice but to strictly implement preventative measures.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Security To Lam admitted that hundreds of people illegally enter the country each day, thereby putting increasing pressure on local police forces.

He cited statistics, indicating that approximately 70,000 Vietnamese people stranded overseas due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have been repatriated under the Prime Minister’s instructions.

An additional hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese citizens also aspire to return home, with the number expected to keep rising ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, which is just over a month away, said Minister Lam.

According to the police minister, a large number of Vietnamese people based in China and Cambodia will attempt to cross the border and enter the country in the near future, making it vital to strengthen border management.

Teenager Quang moves towards SEA Games glory, one step at a time

by vietnamnews.vn

Phùng Kim Quang competes in the National Athletics Championship in 2020. The teenager expects to win a medal at the SEA Games later this year. Photo courtesy of Phùng Kim Quang

Athletics

Thanh Hà

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam have never won a gold medal in the men’s walking event at the regional Southeast Asian (SEA) Games despite having previously qualified for the Olympics in the sport.

Phùng Kim Quang is on a mission to change that.

Walking was little more than a blip on the Vietnamese sporting radar until siblings Nguyễn Thị Thanh Phúc and Nguyễn Thành Ngưng pocketed gold and bronze in the women’s and men’s races at the 25th Games in 2011.

Since then, with better support, Việt Nam have dominated the women’s discipline with four titles. However, the men’s crown is still out of the reach despite three silver medals.

Teenager Quang is the big Vietnamese hope in the sport after recording some outstanding performances at recent domestic competitions.

He is the record holder of the junior tournament and in the top three of the national championship.

Fate

Quang was born in Ba Vì District, in the outskirts of Hà Nội, in 2003.

The naughty little boy loved and played well in all sports such as badminton, shuttlecock, football and track-and-field. After dominating school competitions he became a member of the district athletics team.

Two years later, Quang was among several boys introduced to the walking event, a new sport in the city in 2015. His coach Nguyễn Văn Toản did not pick him at first but when the team did not have enough athletes, Quang was recruited after a second trial.

But Toản, who coached Phạm Thị Thu Trang to the SEA Games women’s title in 2019, gradually found the thin boy was suitable for the sport in which posture is of prime importance while arm, shoulder and leg actions must be well controlled to ensure balance.

After four years in the sport, Quang grabbed his first gold at the National Youth Athletics Championship and a bronze in the National Athletics Championship in 2019.

A year later, the 17-year-old defended his title at the junior 5,000m event and set a new record of 23min 14.21sec, 11 seconds than the old record of 23:14.32 by Dương Hữu Tín of Nghệ An Province in 2013.

“It is a record but I was not very happy. I expected to walk under 22 minutes but the result was more than 23 minutes. I considered it a failure because I could not do it again as I am overage next year,” Quang told Việt Nam News .

Phùng Kim Quang (right) poses for photos after winning a bronze medal together with the champion Nguyễn Thành Ngưng (centre) and silver holder Võ Văn Vĩnh at the 2020 National Athletics Championship in Hà Nội. Photo webthethao.vn

A month later he finished third with a time of 1:37:03 at the National Athletics Championship’s 20km walk.

Despite his strong effort, Quang who suffered a leg injury, could not surpass senior athletes Nguyễn Thành Ngưng and Võ Xuân Vĩnh at the finish line.

“I was really nervous when competing against such experienced rivals although it was my second time. Ngưng and Vĩnh are my seniors and idols. They have won national and international medals,” said Quang.

“However, I have learnt many things from them. From what they knew, they told me how to get better. Ngưng used to tell me ‘effort does not make success immediately, but if you try hard you will make it’. I have pinned it in my mind and will work harder to get better. I will find success by the end of the road,” he said.

Despite the third-place finish, Quang has been tipped for a big future.

“We will invest in Quang with an expectation that he will bring home regional and continental victories and even further he could reach world level if possible,” said Lại Phúc Lộc, deputy director of the Hà Nội Sports and Training Centre.

“We have set plans to send athletes including Quang to compete in open events in Thailand and Singapore (when the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled). Our goal is that Quang will secure a berth in the national team and have a high result in the coming SEA Games,” he added.

It is a huge job for Quang to vie for the national team slot against tough opponents. Ngưng has won the national title for 11 years in a row along with a SEA Games bronze and became the first and only Southeast Asian walker to win an Olympic berth in 2016. The Đà Nẵng-based athlete has vowed not to retire until he wins a SEA Games gold.

Vĩnh is also a big challenge he has finished behind Ngưng many times. He has even outperformed Ngưng in the SEA Games with three silvers in 2013, 2015 and 2019.

The only thing that Quang has on his side is his youth. He will be 18 while Ngưng 29 and Vĩnh 30 at the coming Games.

“My current result does not push me to the national senior team. But it will be my target now. I will have to improve my strength and technique. I also have to decrease my time because I want not only to be part of the coming big tournament but also win a medal,” Quang said. VNS

Hanoi is so beautiful with East-West, modern-classic interwoven architecture

by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Hanoi is gorgeous and charming with its East-West architecture. Today, the emergence of modern architectural constructions has contributed to forming a dreamy and dynamic Hanoi.

Tubular house was the most popular type in the city, with the narrow width, a few tens of metres deep. If the owners are well-off, they would build two or three floors more. Then, influenced by French architecture, engineers began to use steel bending or embossing with cement and plaster to reduce the roughness of concrete blocks in home décor.

Modern architecture is a trend to use new, versatile technologies and materials. In the past, people often used wood, black steel, baked tile… to make structure, pillars and roofs. Nowadays, when metal technology develops, rust-proof super light-plated steel has replaced black steel and wood; unburnt tile has been used instead of baked tile.

In the past ten years, Hanoi’s architectural situation has required professional architects to make a changey, as soon as possible, the local architecture shouldt be exposed to the architecture of developed countries and other countries in the region. Hanoi architecture is facing big changes of a key moment, that needs to be a breakthrough in quality as well as in quantity. So each architect has to share the thought and contribution to the that breakthrough. The social and communal characters of Hanoi architecture are posing new requirements. We have a responsibility to strive for a sustainable, orderly, pure, humane, visually-efficient architecture.

When the country is liberated and united, the hearts of millions of Vietnamese people will always head towards Ba Dinh Square and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. This is a sacred place that every Vietnamese and international friends want to visit.

Hanoi Opera House was built by the French in 1901 and completed in 1911 following the model of the Garnier Opera House in Paris (France). Today, the Opera House is one of the familiar, outstanding and attractive places of Hanoi City, a place where special cultural and performing arts are regularly held.

Long Bien Bridge was the first iron bridge spanning over the Red River, built by the French in 1899. During the war against the US, despite two major battles with many bombings, the bridge still stands firmly, defying the erosion of the time. Over the years, with prints of time, Long Bien Bridge is a historical evidence of a capital that has come out of war and has been developing more and more modernly.

Hanoi Opera House, the hallmark of Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Hai
Sunset on Nhat Tan Bridge. Photo: Nguyen Van Hai
Dong Xuan Market, Hoan Kiem District. Photo: Tran Son
Dong Tru Bridge spanning over Duong River, built between 2006-14. Photo: Cong Tien Thinh
Thanh Nien Road between Truc Bach and West lakes. Photo: Pham Hung
A corner of the western Hanoi. Photo: Cong Hung
A bridge of memoir, Long Bien Bridge. Photo: Ngoc Tu
Vinh Thinh Bridge. Photo: Nam Khanh
Colourful urban nightlife by West Lake. Photo: Vu Van Canh
Cau Giay Park. Photo: Hung Thap
Me Tri urban area. Photo: Trong Nghi
Doctoral stone steles at Temple of Literature. Photo: Van Phuc
A corner of Hanoi at night. Photo: Nguyen Minh Chi
The spring comes. Photo: Duy Tuong
The Jade Well at Co Loa Temple. Photo: An Khang
Quan Thanh Temple. Photo: Nguyen Anh Tuan
Saint Giong Monument. Photo: Huu Nen
Foreigners ride bicycles to enjoy the beauty of Hanoi, City for Peace. Photo: Luu Phuong Binh

Hanoi to quarantine people from South Korea’s coronavirus-hit regions

by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – The Hanoi’s authorities will have to plan quarantine and monitor Vietnamese returning from South Korea.

Hanoi would isolate people from South Korea’s regions infected with Covid-19 epidemic for 14 days from the day of their arrival in the capital city, Zing.vn quoted Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health Hoang Duc Hanh as saying at a meeting on February 23.

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung speaks at the meeting. Photo: Zing

According to Hanh, there are about 26,000 Vietnamese citizens living in Deagu and North Gyeongsang, the two South Korea’s provinces where Covid-19 broke out, and asked the Epidemic Prevention Steering Committee to set plan for quarantining the returnees from there.

Hanh requested isolatation of South Korean tourists coming from these two provinces for 14 days at their accommodation facilities.

Director of the Hanoi Department of Health Nguyen Khac Hien also suggested that the Hanoi’s authorities consider including tourists from South Korea, Japan and Singapore into the isolation list. The number of infections in these three countries has risen fast over the past week.

For Vietnamese traveling abroad, the authorities must be communicated about their itineraries. The Hanoi Department of Tourism needs to monitor the tourist attractions, especially the places with crowds of foreigners such as commercial centers, golf courses, among others.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung emphasized that although South Korea and Japan have not been declared as epidemic outbreak regions, the risk of transmission from the citizens of these countries in Hanoi is high.

Besides, around 200,000 Vietnamese are working and studying in South Korea, Chung said.

He added it is likely that in the coming days, the Hanoi’s authorities will have to plan quarantine and monitor Vietnamese returning from South Korea. “If these citizens return home, thousands of them will arrive in Hanoi. Thus, we need to anticipate and take action,” Chung said.

Hanoi, HCMC mandate self-isolation for people from Hai Duong outbreak areas

by e.vnexpress.net

The Hanoi Health Department required people entering Hanoi from Hai Duong Town (the capital city of Hai Duong Province), Kim Mon Town, Kim Thanh and Cam Giang Districts to isolate themselves at home.

They also have to medically declare themselves and install Covid-19 contact tracing apps like Bluezone or NCOVI. Those who tested negative for the novel coronavirus within three days before leaving Hai Duong would not have to isolate themselves, it added.

Though Ho Chi Minh City no longer isolates those entering the city from Hai Duong at centralized quarantine zones, people coming from 16 Hai Duong locations where Covid-19 patients were recorded in the latest outbreak must still self-isolate, according to the HCMC Center for Disease Control (HCDC).

The 16 locations are Cong Hoa Ward, Van Duc Ward, Sao Do Town, An Lac Commune, Hung Dao Commune, Nam Tran Commune, Lai Cach Town, Tan Truong Commune, Cam Dien Commune, Luong Dien Commune, Thanh Binh Ward, Nhi Chau Ward, Kim Lien Commune, Kim Dinh Commune, Ke Sat Town and Thanh Lang Commune.

Northern Hai Duong Province, the epicenter of a recent coronavirus wave in Vietnam with 684 cases, ended 15 days of province-wide social distancing Wednesday.

But over 900 Covid-19 checkpoints were still active in the province, while certain areas with coronavirus outbreaks are still under lockdown, including Kim Dinh Commune with a population of over 7,400.

Vietnam has recorded 2,475 Covid-19 cases so far, with 538 still active.