Heat wave images

Vietnam’s medical waste autoclave system

Effectively replacing traditional technology

According to Tong Viet Dung, Deputy Director of the Environmental Equipment and Material Joint Stock Company (Urenco 13), the company handles about five tonnes of medical waste per day. Previously, it used traditional combustion technology that generates hazardous emissions.

Since 2016, the unit has received US-made medical waste autoclave technology from an international donor organization, which uses saturated steam at high temperatures to eliminate bacteria and harmful pathogens.

However, the cost of foreign technology, its maintenance and replacement parts was too high for many users. Two years ago, Urenco 13 met engineer Nguyen Van Binh and cooperated with NARIME on the research, design, manufacture and application of medical waste treatment using wet heat, with capacity of 4,000 to 4,500 kg of waste a day. Urenco 13 mastered the technology of the American system and adapted it to fit Vietnam’s environmental conditions, Dung emphasized.

Equivalent quality to US products

The system is made up of a 9,000-liter autoclave, a 480-liter boiler and a system control cabinet. Medical waste is first transferred to sterilization in the autoclave, where high temperature saturated steam helps eliminate all germs, bacteria, pathogens in the waste. This process does not cause odors and does not generate dioxins and furans, unlike conventional burning methods.

The whole process is operated automatically. Once the sterilization ends, the waste is cooled and crushed to a size of about 2-3 cm. The finished product after treatment is sterile waste, not harmful to the environment. When buried, the product does not take up much space and does not affect the soil and water environment, Binh emphasized.

After being installed and tested at Urenco 13 (in Hanoi’s Nam Tu Liem District) since November 2020, the results show that the new system has been operating stably. Microbiological tests of the waste following its treatment conform to the requirements of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE).

The treatment time is reduced and productivity increases about 15-20 percent compared to world-leading medical waste autoclave equipment, which costs about four times more than the system manufactured by a domestic unit, Binh added.

Dung also affirmed that the project’s products have the same quality level as GK-MOSS products imported from the US, saying the company as well as NARIME hopes that following additional trials, the technology can be replicated nationwide.

The project will be replicated by member units of URENCO, hospitals in Hanoi and some northern provinces and subsequently in hospitals in the southern and central provinces, Dung said.

Quynh Nga

* Strong winds and high waves lashed the eastern Philippines on Monday as the strongest typhoon ever recorded in April barrelled past in the Pacific Ocean, killing one man and triggering flooding in lower-lying communities, disaster officials said.

* The Russian Foreign Ministry said Sunday that it is expelling 20 staffers of the Czech embassy in Moscow in response to the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic.

* Nearly 192.13 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Sunday, the National Health Commission said Monday. The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 11 new imported COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 90,510, according to the commission.

* The COVID-19 vaccination program in Laos is underway and the majority of people in target areas have had their first dose of the vaccine. The Lao government plans to vaccinate at least 150,000 people in the initial stages of the program.

* Cambodia on Monday predicted that international tourist arrivals to the kingdom this year would decline by another 70 percent due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19. The report of the Ministry of Tourism said the Southeast Asian country received 1.31 million international tourists in 2020, down 80 percent from 6.61 million in 2019.

* Malaysia started phase 2 of its national immunization program against COVID-19 on Monday, expanding to other high risk groups following the vaccination of the country’s frontliners.

* The COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 4,952 within one day to 1,609,300, with the death toll adding by 143 to 43,567, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

* Brazil’s COVID-19 death toll on Sunday reached 373,335 after registering another 1,657 fatalities, the country’s ministry of health reported. According to the ministry, another 42,980 cases were registered, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 13,943,071.

* Just more than half of US adults have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Sunday, with nearly 130 million people aged 18 years or more having received their first shot.

* The European Union has exercised an option to acquire an additional 100 million doses of BioNTech and Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the two companies said.

* Denmark’s health authority said it may be possible for people to choose to have the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine if they wish, Ritzau news agency reported.

* The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care units in France edged up on Sunday, amid a nationwide lockdown to try to stem a third wave of infections.

* British scientists launched a trial which will deliberately expose participants who have already had COVID-19 to the coronavirus again to examine immune responses and see if people get reinfected.

* Canada will present a budget with billions of dollars for pandemic recovery measures as COVID-19 infections skyrocket, CAD2 billion (US$1.6 billion) toward national childcare, and new taxes on luxury goods.

* The number of people heading out to shops across Britain jumped 87.8% in the week to April 17 versus the previous week as non-essential stores in England reopened after three months of COVID-19 lockdown, market researcher Springboard said.

* Spain will study the effects of mixing different coronavirus vaccines, government researchers said on Monday, responding to shifting guidelines on the safety of the AstraZeneca’s shot.

* Poland may be able to open up a significant part of the economy at the end of May or beginning of June, depending on progress with COVID-19 vaccinations, the prime minister said on Monday.

* NASA successfully launched its Mars helicopter Ingenuity from the surface of the Red Planet earlier on Monday, marking the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet.

* The coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa can break through the protection provided by Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to some extent, a real-world data study in Israel found.

* Vaccination against COVID-19 is a requirement to perform the Umra pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi state TV said on Sunday, citing a government official.

Located at the noisy Thai Ha – Tay Son Crossroads, a luxury hotel is deserted with only several security guards at the entrance door. The project has been facing bad luck since its opening. It initially was an office building but offices were in oversupply and the investor had to shift to another business model.

The building was then redesigned to turn it into a hotel. However, it once again met ill fortune when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. Lockdowns and restricted travel policy have kept it deserted.

Even a gold-plated hotel is facing difficulties. With 360 rooms and many gold-plated items, the construction required investment capital of $100 million. The work was executed within 18 months and completed in March 2020, ready to serve the F1 tournament that was later postponed because of Covid-19. The hotel opening day was also delayed.

Other luxury hotels bearing international brands in Hanoi are in the same situation. Matthew Powell from Savills Hanoi said hotels in Hanoi had a difficult quarter because of the impact of another Covid-19 wave which decreased market capacity.

One 5-star hotel in Dong Da district was officially rated earlier this year, while two 4-star hotels in Ba Dinh and Tay Ho districts saw their star rating expire.

Meanwhile, Capella Hotel in Hoan Kiem was put into operation in Q1, but it has not been rated yet. Two 3-star hotels with 130 rooms had closed by the end of the last quarter.

Regarding supply, the entire market has 10,120 rooms in 17 5-star hotels, 17 4-star and 32 3-star hotels, up by one percent QoQ and 2 percent YoY.

The market capacity was 24 percent, down by 9 percent quarter on quarter and 20 percent year on year Meanwhile, the hotel room rate was $76 per night per room, down by 23 percent year on year.

The Covid-19 resurgence in January in Hanoi led to a reduction in hotel room occupancy rate in February and March to below 20 percent. Five-star hotels led the market in terms of revenue per available room in Q1 with $25/room/night.

Local hotels are now expecting more Vietnamese guests.

According to the Hanoi Tourism Department, after the Covid-19 outbreak was controlled, tourism points in Hanoi reopened in March. About 685,000 travelers came to Hanoi, a 180 percent month-on-month and 360 percent year on year increase.

An OAG (Official Aviation Guide) report showed that the Hanoi-HCM City air route continued to be the second busiest route in the world in March with 980,000 passengers.

Duy Khanh

Trần Văn Cao Sang (black hat), and member of group I Love Kon Tum give gifts to poor children in Kon Tum. — VNA/VNS Photo

KON TUM — A charity group in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum has helped poor and disadvantaged children stay in school.

Tôi yêu Kon Tum (I Love Kon Tum) was founded by 41-year-old Trần Văn Cao Sang and run out of the group’s headquarters at a stall at 29 Nguyễn Trãi Street, Kon Tum City.

Sang and his friends have organised many volunteer activities to help poor and disadvantaged children, including giving them free clothes, paying their school fees and searching for other donors.

Sang said during a visit to the Kon Tum Province’s Child Care and Sponsor Centre 15 years ago, he and his friends were deeply saddened by the difficult circumstances the children suffered.

“They lacked a lot both physically and mentally but they always smiled. The image of innocent children playing together touched our hearts,” he said.

In early 2006, ‘I Love Kon Tum’ was established to run community-oriented activities, especially helping children in remote and extremely difficult areas in Kon Tum Province.

Sang was elected to be the head of the charity group.

Firstly, Sang came up with the idea to buy white T-shirts and print the ‘I Love Kon Tum’ logo on them to sell and raise money.

“At that time, white T-shirts with the ‘I Love Kon Tum’ logo were very popular among local residents, especially young people. Thousands of T-shirts were sold in a week,” he said.

“All the money was spent on giving gifts to poor children in remote areas,” Sang said.

In addition, the group has raised funds by selling paintings and organising volunteer music nights.

The group has gradually become more popular in the locality so local sponsors and some overseas Vietnameses have helped out.

The group has four main charity drives each year, one for the Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays, one at the start of summer, one during the Mid-Autumn Festival and a winter drive to gather warm clothes for kids.

The group has provided tonnes of blankets, clothes and essentials over the years, as well as more than VNĐ100 million to support local people who suffered heavy damage during flooding in late 2020.

“The clothes come from local residents. Most of the clothes are used, but still in good conditions and properly cleaned and ironed before being given away,” said Sang.

The group also supports 10 poor students with study costs to keep their university dreams alive.

Nurturing dreams

Trần Quyết Tiến, 22, residing in Trường Chinh Ward, Kon Tum City, unfortunately, suffered a severe injury after a football match.

He was taken to a hospital in HCM City for treatment at a cost of VNĐ50 million which his family had to borrow from friends. Doctors diagnosed Tiến with disc herniation and said he would likely be unable to walk without surgery. The family had no hope of treating for him due to the huge cost of the surgery.

After learning about Tiến, ‘I Love Kon Tum’ members called for sponsors to support his family and found an organisation that agreed to pay all his medical expenses.

“The moment the surgery was successful, everyone broke down. We were all happy when doctors said Tiến will be able to walk normally,” Sang said.

Tiến now studies at a medical college in central Đà Nẵng City with the dream of becoming a doctor to help local children.

A Vang, 23, has lived with his ill father and old grandparents in Mường Hoong Commune, Đắk Glei District, Kon Tum Province after his mother died in his childhood.

In 2016, A Vang became the first person in the commune to gain acceptance to a university, but as he lacked the money to pay tuition fees, he planned to give up his studies and start working.

The charity group members found a kindhearted individual to pay for all the tuition and accommodation fees for A Vang during his time at university.

“Without the people in the group, my life would have gone a darker way,” he said. He returned home after graduation and became a secondary school teacher.

Deputy Secretary of the Kon Tum Provincial Youth Union, A Xây appreciated the ‘I Love Kon Tum’ group, acknowledging that it had motivated poor children to overcome difficult circumstances and continue studying. —VNS