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Medical worker in HCMC infected with Covid-19

by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Medical worker in HCMC infected with Covid-19

The Saigon Times

Trung Vuong Hospital in HCMC. A male nurse of the hospital has been found to be infected with Covid-19 – PHOTO: TNO

HCMC – A male nurse of the HCMC-based Trung Vuong Hospital has been found to be infected with Covid-19, a representative of the hospital said this afternoon, June 18.

The hospital discovered the nurse, who works at the hospital’s Department of Orthopedics, was infected with the disease after it performed a Covid-19 test for all of its employees.

The hospital reported the case to the HCMC Center for Disease Control and is discussing response measures, reported Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Earlier, a married couple went to the hospital on June 8 for a medical check-up. After they declared their health status, the medical workers suspected they might have been exposed to the coronavirus and decided to take them to a quarantine zone for a Covid-19 screening test.

Their results came out positive on June 9. They were sent to the Can Gio Covid-19 treatment hospital in Can Gio District.

In a related development, Tang Chi Thuong, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Health, said on June 17 that the department decided to convert the Trung Vuong Hospital into a Covid-19 treatment one.

The Trung Vuong Covid-19 treatment hospital has 1,000 beds, including 100 for intensive care treatment.

New Covid-19 infections rise by 62

by english.thesaigontimes.vn

New Covid-19 infections rise by 62

The Saigon Times

Competent forces remove a Covid-19 checkpoint in Ha Tinh City, Ha Tinh Province today, June 18. The Ministry of Health reported 62 new Covid-19 cases this evening – PHOTO: MOH

HCMC – The Ministry of Health reported 62 new Covid-19 cases this evening, June 18, including three imported cases that were quarantined upon arrival in Vietnam from overseas.

As for the 59 remaining patients who caught the disease through community transmission, HCMC still accounted for the most at 30 cases, Bac Giang reported 19 cases, and Bac Ninh had six. In addition, three cases were recorded in Ha Tinh and one in Hoa Binh.

Besides this, 80 coronavirus patients in the country were declared free of the virus today, raising the country’s recoveries to 4,733 cases up to now.

Also in the day, the anti-Covid-19 steering committee of An Lac Ward in HCMC’s Binh Tan District decided to lock down the headquarters of the An Lac Ward People’s Committee starting from today until further notice due to a coronavirus case, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

During the lockdown period, the authorities asked employees not to get out of the lockdown area, except for those in need of medical check-ups and treatment. Or else, violators would be tackled in the line with prevailing regulations.

In another development, Ha Tinh City in the north-central province of Ha Tinh removed Covid-19 checkpoints in the city this afternoon, as the Covid-19 situation in the city has been put under control after the 10-day social distancing period in line with the prime minister’s Directive 16. Accordingly, vehicles now can enter and exit the city as normal.

The city will switch to social distancing measures as regulated in the prime minister’s Directive 15, relaxing restrictions on some services.

Under Directive 15, events gathering more than 20 people and large gatherings of over 10 people outside office buildings, schools, hospitals are banned. People are required to keep at least two meters away from others in public places. Also, non-essential services have to shut down.

Ambassador of Belarus to Việt Nam, Mr. Vladimir Goshin

by vietnamnews.vn

Ambassador of Belarus to Việt Nam, Mr. Vladimir Goshin

On behalf of the Embassy of Belarus in Việt Nam I would like to congratulate the editorial board of the Việt Nam News on the 30th anniversary of its foundation and wish further impetuous development, bright and positive news as well as creative inspiration.

Ambassador of Belarus to Việt Nam, Mr. Vladimir Goshin. Courtesy Photo of the embassy

The Việt Nam News was the first printed periodical that I got to know closely after my arrival in Việt Nam as the Ambassador. And since then the Embassy has been regularly subscribing to the newspaper, which in my opinion is an important source of information. We highly appreciate the editorial office’s position on prompt and honest coverage of the events in the country, current social, political, economic, humanitarian and other projects, including, for example, information on measures taken to combat against COVID-19.

In the contemporary world there are too many various fakes and unfair usage of information in political campaigns aimed at forming a false perception of reality in the interests of certain social groups or states. I would like to highlight the high level of professionalism of the Việt Nam News correspondents who have cooperated with the Embassy over the past few years. I sincerely express my appreciation to the external information service for objective publications about the events in the world and Belarus in particular.

Let the talent, creativity, competence and dedication of the Việt Nam News team continue to serve the noble mission and the peoples of Belarus and Việt Nam would always get only the latest and kind news about the relations between our two friendly countries.

Severe heatwave hits north, central regions

by vietnamnews.vn

A worker at a construction site in Hà Nội in the hot weather. — VNA/VNS Photo Thành Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Northern and north-central provinces are sweltering under a severe hot wave, with temperatures in some places topping 40 degrees Celsius, announced the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The extreme weather, which will cause temperatures to stay above 35 degrees Celsius from 10 to 19 hours per day, will also cause low humidity of between 40 and 60 per cent.

Hà Nội will experience extremely hot days, with the lowest temperatures around 29 – 31 degrees and the highs reaching 39 – 40 degrees. There will be places where the temperatures will exceed 40 degrees.

The heatwave is forecast to last through June 21.

Demand for electricity is likely to increase during the day. Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has advised agencies, production establishments and households to use electricity safely, economically and effectively.

Nguyễn Tiến Toàn from the Weather Forecast Office of the National Hydrometeorological Forecast Centre told Lao động (Labour) newspaper that the heatwave was caused by a low-pressure system in the west combined with the foehn effect.

The foehn effect makes the heat last longer during the day and lowers humidity, posing a high risk of fires, he said.

The hot weather has negatively affected the daily activities of people and threatened residents’ health.

Nguyễn Văn Nam, a shipper in Hà Nội, said he had to refuse many orders due to the hot weather. “It is too hot, particularly between 11am and 2pm. Many shippers like me have to stop working during that time to avoid the heat. It will be very tiring and you easily get dehydrated,” he said.

Medical experts warn of dehydration, exhaustion, and heat stroke as the human body is exposed to high temperatures for a long time.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting also warned that Hà Nội and other provinces in the north will see a high ultraviolet (UV) index.

The maximum UV index usually occurs from 10am to 1pm.

A UV index of 2.5-5.4 is moderate, 5.5-7.4 is high risk, 7.5 -10.4 is very high, and more than 10.5 or higher is considered dangerous.

From June 17 to 19, the UV index in Hà Nội and other localities was forecast to reach 9-10.

The country is projected to face more widespread heatwaves this month. — VNS

Japan, South Korea consortium awarded US$1.3B contract for power project in Vietnam

by hanoitimes.vn

The consortium will execute the contract package in four years, using ultra-supercritical technology.

A consortium of Japanese, South Korean, and Vietnamese companies have been awarded the contract worth VND30.24 trillion (US$1.3 billion) for a thermal power project in central Vietnam.

Representatives of investors and contractors sign the deal on June 17. Photo: Duc Dung/Bnews

The consortium of Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation, South Korean Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd, and Vietnamese Construction Corporation No.1 JSC (CC1) will be in charge of engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the 1,200-MW Quang Trach 1 Thermal Power Plant in Quang Binh Province.

This contract is part of Quang Trach Thermal Power Center invested by Vietnam Electricity (EVN). The complex project costs an investment of VND41.13 trillion (US$1.86 billion), including 30% from EVN and the remaining from domestic commercial banks.

It is EVN’s first project using commercial loans without a government guarantee.

The consortium will complete the first turbine after 42 months and the second turbine in 48 months since the signing of the contract.

Once put into operations, the plant is expected to contribute 8.4 billion kWh of electricity to the national grid annually.

Mitsubishi Corporation’s Chairman Tetsu Funayama said the plant using ultra-supercritical combustion will substantially mitigate air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, meeting both Vietnamese and international emissions regulations.

“Our joint venture is not only committed to ensuring the progress but the quality and environment are also at the highest level,” Lao Dong Newspaper cited Tetsu Funayama.

Ultra-supercritical plants are usually more profitable than subcritical plants since they have lower fuel and other operating costs.

Vietnam’s coal-fired power capacity has so far reached roughly 22,130 MW or 32% of the country’s total installed power generation capacity.

Vietnam has reduced coal-fired power, moving toward renewable energy. However, this kind of power remains the biggest ratio and most stable source for the national grid, according to Tran Viet Ngai, head of the Vietnam Energy Association (VSA).

More than half of listed companies comply with information disclosure norms

by bizhub.vn

The number of listed firms meeting information disclosure requirements in 2011-21. — Source IR Awards organisers

Over 53 per cent of companies listed on the Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh stock exchanges meet all information disclosure requirements, according to a survey conducted for the 2021 IR Awards.

It surveyed 724 of the 749 companies listed on the bourses.

Of the 389 listed companies that fully complied with the obligations, 30 firms are in the large-cap segment (accounting for 68 per cent of all enterprises in the segment), 111 in the medium-cap segment (63 per cent) and 248 in the small and micro cap segment (49 per cent).

Information disclosure is a mandatory obligation for all listed companies on the country’s two stock exchanges not to speak of their responsibility to shareholders, and investors in general.

The survey was based on regulations prescribed in Circulars 155 and 96 on information disclosure issued by the Ministry of Finance in 2015 and 2020 and other regulations from regulatory agencies.

The annual survey indicates that the percentage of companies meeting disclosure requirements is growing steadily.

This is the first year that the number of companies complying with requirements is over 50 per cent.

This growth is also key to developing the stock markets in a sustainable and transparent.

The IR Award programme is organised by Vietstock and Finance and Life online newspaper FiLi.vn published by the Viet Nam Association of Financial Executives.

The annual awards seek to raise awareness among listed companies of the need to comply with disclosure requirements and to have good relations with investors and shareholders. — VNS