Have brought vietnam and the us closer together vnexpress international

On Friday, a Vietnam Airlines flight was scheduled to depart from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi at 10 a.m. But at 9:40 a.m. Nguyen Thanh, her husband and three-year-old daughter had yet to pass the security checkpoint, prompting airline staff to “rescue” the family ahead of departure.

Arriving at the airport at 8 a.m., they completed check-in and medical declaration procedures, then queued up for an hour waiting to pass the security checkpoint.

Another Vietnam Airlines flight was scheduled to leave HCMC for Cam Ranh at 10:10 a.m., about 30 minutes before departure, many passengers were still at the security checkpoint.

“My family was about to go on a weekend trip – I was surprised the airport was so crowded. I’ve only witnessed such scenes during the Tet holiday,” a passenger named Nguyen Sy commented.

A representative of Tan Son Nhat airport, Vietnam’s largest, said overcrowding got worse closer to the weekends.

On Wednesday, 64,000 passengers passed through the airport, but the number rose to 77.000 a day later.

In 2019, the airport received 40 million passengers, up 4.5 percent from the previous year but the figure was down 47 percent last year to 22 million due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tan Son Nhat airport has served 36 million passengers a year since 2017, well above its capacity. Construction of a third terminal will begin in October this year.

With Vietnam having contained its Covid-19 outbreaks, domestic air travel has returned to normal.

The latest Covid-19 outbreak in late January came just a few weeks before Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday, forcing many people to cancel travel plans.

Representatives of the Hà Nội Oncology Hospital and Roche Vietnam sign a Memorandum of Understanding on improving patient cancer care and treatment in Việt Nam on April 15. — Photo Roche Vietnam

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội Oncology Hospital and Roche Vietnam will work together in improving patient cancer care and treatment in Việt Nam as part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed on April 15 in Hà Nội.

The 3-year partnership aims to improve cancer patient care and treatment capability, connecting the knowledge exchange and international cooperation in oncology as well as raising patients and community’s awareness of cancer.

The cooperation is expected to bring positive impacts and put patients as a priority by providing immediate initiatives to meet the rising demand for cancer care. It will focus activities on enhancing healthcare professionals’ ability and experience in cancer care and treatment for patients; fostering local and international cooperation in the field of oncology. It will also establish and carry out activities targeting cancer patients and the community and implement the project on improving high-risk breast cancer patients’ access to innovative therapies in the 2020–25 period that was signed between the Ministry of Health and Vietnam Medical Association in 2020.

“The partnership between Hà Nội Oncology Hospital and Roche Vietnam over the last years has brought positive impacts to patients. The new cooperation will help strengthen the relationship between the two organisations with the strong focus on cancer patients and the community in the most tangible way,” said the Hà Nội Oncology Hospital director Bùi Vinh Quang.

“Roche Vietnam proudly continues the partnership with Hà Nội Oncology Hospital as a part of our long-term commitment, setting patients at the core to improve the comprehensive competencies of cancer treatment in Việt Nam. By leveraging Roche’s global strengths and innovative solutions, accompanied with the dedicated team of Hà Nội Oncology Hospital, we wish to contribute positive impacts to progress in healthcare as well as bring outcomes throughout the patient-journey from diagnostics to treatment. This effort is not only to improve the living quality of people with cancer but also reduce the mortality and burdens it caused as well,” said Girish Mulye, General Director of Roche Pharma Vietnam.

According to the GLOBOCAN 2020, there are more than 350,000 cancer patients in Việt Nam, over 182,000 new cases and 122,000 deaths of cancer yearly. A large-scale study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in June 2020 also showed that the mortality rate of cancer cases in Việt Nam was beyond 70 per cent, ranking in the highest group among Asian countries. Most cancer patients are diagnosed and treated at a late-stage, leading them to the verge of death. This has caused many challenges in treatment as well as burdens on the patients, the healthcare system and society, showing an urge to accelerate the improvement of diagnosis and cancer treatment quality. — VNS

Among the affected, 540,000 lost their jobs during the period while 3.1 million had their working hours reduced or took unpaid leave, with 6.5 million others reporting reduced incomes, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported Friday.

The country’s labor force shrunk by 1.1 million against the previous quarter to 51 million, the report stated.

Pham Hoai Nam, head of the GSO’s department of population and labor statistics, blamed the dark picture on the resurgence of Covid-19 before the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest festival.

Vietnam encountered a new wave of Covid-19 on Jan. 28 in what the government said was caused by the U.K.-originated variant. In February, many areas in Vietnam were placed under lockdown as authorities raced against time to contain the spread of the virus.

The service sector was hit hardest by the crisis with 20.4 percent of workers affected, followed by the processing and manufacturing industries, along with agriculture.

The average monthly income in the first quarter was VND6.3 million ($272.95), down 2.3 percent over the previous year.

According to the GSO, the unemployment rate in the first quarter was 2.42 percent, down 0.21 percentage points against the previous quarter and up 0.08 percentage points year-on-year.

Severe Covid-19 impacts have seen as many as 40,300 companies shut up shop in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent.

GSO hoped the government would soon implement a Covid-19 vaccine passport so aviation, tourism and services could recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

Vietnam’s GDP grew 4.48 percent in the first quarter.

The price tag is 2.6 times the luxury segment average in the city at $6,900 per square meter, according to data from real estate consultancy CBRE. Most real estate consultancies define a luxury apartment as one that is priced $4,000 or higher.

The project is located on Ton Duc Thang Road that runs alongside the Saigon River in District 1. Its apartment prices range from VND18-24 billion ($780,000-1 million) per unit, with areas depending on acreages from 40-110 square meters.

The project has low construction density with trees covering 60 percent of the total area. Each floor has 10 apartments and eight elevators.

Data from real estate consultancy Savills shows that Vietnam is among the top 10 fastest growing branded residences real estate market in the world, alongside Malaysia, the U.K. and Australia. Branded residences are products created by a real estate developer with a well-known manager.

Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi, said that in Vietnam, many buyers looking for property in the luxury segment with the highest quality for either rental or residence purposes.

The boom in this type of apartment is changing the structure of the real estate market. The luxury segment accounted for 39 percent of total apartment supply in HCMC as of the end March, exceeding the 20 percent of the high-end segment, according to CBRE.

However, observers are concerned about the imbalance this implies. Nguyen Loc Hanh, CEO of HCMC-based Asia Gem Real Estate Investment, said that 39 percent is too large a ratio for the luxury segment and it does not represent a sustainable real estate market.

Experts have been advising for the last several decades that the ratio is kept at just 1-2 percent, he noted, adding the the current ratio shows developers are only aiming at very rich buyers.

Other industry insiders say that there is still a lot of ambiguity on the criteria for the luxury segment, and that it is too early to identify whether the record-high prices correctly reflect the value of the asset.

The 1,500-megawatt Ca Mau Power Plant 3 is set to begin operation in 2026 when it will produce nine billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year and employs 2,000 locals.

PV Power will require 26 hectares in Khanh An Commune to begin construction in 2022. This is PV Power’s third gas-fired power plant in the province.

Ca Mau chairman Le Quan supports the project and has tasked departments with assisting the company in completing administrative procedures.

Several other LNG power plants have received approval or are having feasibility studies done amid growing power demand in Vietnam.

Southern Long An Province last month licensed a 3,000-MW liquefied natural gas power plant to be built by South Korea’s GS Energy and fund management company VinaCapital.

The northern port city of Hai Phong has approved construction of a $5.09 billion LNG plant by America’s Exxon Mobil.

Singapore’s Delta Offshore Energy will build a plant in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu in 2024.

From 2010 to 2020, Vietnamese men grew about 3.7 centimeters taller to an average 168.1 centimeters, and women about 1.4 centimeters taller to an average 156.2 centimeters, according to the 2019-2020 nutrition survey report announced by the Ministry of Health on Thursday.

“After 10 years, the height of Vietnamese has immensely changed, especially among males aged 18,” said Le Danh Tuyen, director of the National Institute of Nutrition.

The growth rate of Vietnamese over the last decade is about twice as fast compared to the 2010-2020 era. Over that time period, men only grew about 2.1 centimeters taller, while women only grew about 1 centimeter taller. On average, Vietnamese height has increased by about 1.1 centimeters in each decade since 1975, the report said.

Vietnamese have also been consuming more calories over the past decade, eating about 2,023 kcal a day in 2020 compared to 1,925 kcal a day in 2010. Their diets also included more vegetables, fruits and meat, the report stated.

However, obesity rates have been rising too , especially in urban areas. A total 19 percent of children aged 5-19 were considered obese in 2020, compared to 11.5 percent in 2010. Obesity rates in urban areas are measured at around 26.8 percent, while the rate in rural areas is 18.3 percent and mountainous areas 6.9 percent.

Do Xuan Quyen, deputy health minister, said the 2019-2020 report is the most comprehensive national nutrition study to date, with around 22,400 families across 25 cities and provinces surveyed. Its findings would help orient development of a national strategy for the future, Tuyen said.