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People line up at vehicle restoration shop in District 5 to get their cars upgraded and repaired before Tết. Photo: nld.com.vn

HCM CITY— With Tết (Lunar New Year) approaching, many car owners in HCM City have lined up at vehicle restoration shops to repair and upgrade their vehicles.

People like Đào Ngọc Anh of Thủ Đức City do this every year at this time.

“I know it will be very crowded at the end of the year, but I still decided to have the car repaired and upgraded now to make it look at its best during Tết,” Người Lao Động (Labour) newspaper quoted him as saying.

Đinh Dũng Tuấn, owner of a vehicle restoration shop on An Dương Vương Street, District 5, said the number of customers who come to have their car fixed is two or three times higher than during normal days.

At the end of this week the number could increase much further, he said.

“Over the week, my staff had to work overtime.”

The services that car owners request now include retouching scratches, painting, nano or vinyl wrapping, and cleaning of interiors.

They can also choose service packages at various prices.

A basic package with five to seven services can cost VNĐ5 million to VNĐ8 million (US$215 to US$345), and a standard package with more than 10 services, from VNĐ10 million to VNĐ20 million (US$ 431 to US$862).

They are 10-20 per cent higher than normal.

Trần Văn Bình, owner of a vinyl car wrap shop on Trần Bình Trọng Street in District 5, explained that prices are up because he has to pay 1.5-2 times his workers’ normal salary. VNS

A high-production brewery believed to be more than 5,000 years old has been uncovered by a team of archaeologists at a funerary site in southern Egypt, the tourism ministry said Saturday.

The site containing several “units” consisting of about 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows was uncovered at North Abydos, Sohag, by a joint Egyptian-American team, the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page.

The brewery likely dates back to the era of King Narmer, it quoted the secretary general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Waziry, as saying, adding it believed the find to “be the oldest high-production brewery in the world.”

Narmer, who ruled more than 5,000 years ago, founded the First Dynasty and unified Upper and Lower Egypt.

British archaeologists first discovered the existence of the brewery at the beginning of the 20th century but its location was never precisely determined, the statement said.

The joint Egyptian-American team “was able to re-locate and uncover its contents”, it said.

According to Waziry, the brewery consisted of eight large areas which were used as “units for beer production”.

Each sector contained about 40 earthenware pots arranged in two rows.

A mixture of grains and water used for beer production was heated in the vats, with each basin “held in place by levers made of clay placed vertically in the form of rings”.

Brew for ‘royal rituals’

Archaeologist Matthew Adams of New York University, who heads the joint mission with Deborah Vischak of Princeton University, said studies have shown that beer was produced at a large scale, with about 22,400 litres made at a time.

The brewery “may have been built in this place specifically to supply the royal rituals that were taking place inside the funeral facilities of the kings of Egypt”, the statement quoted him as saying.

“Evidence for the use of beer in sacrificial rites was found during excavations in these facilities,” the statement said.

Evidence of beer-making in ancient Egypt is not new, and past discoveries have shed light on such production.

Fragments of pottery used by Egyptians to make beer and dating back 5,000 years were discovered on a building site in Tel Aviv, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced in 2015.

Abydos, where the latest discovery was unearthed, has yielded many treasures over the years and is famed for its temples, such as that of Seti I.

In 2000, a team of US archaeologists brought to light in Abydos the earliest known example of an ancient Egyptian solar barge, dating back to the first Pharaonic dynasty around 5,000 years ago.

Egypt has announced several major new discoveries which it hopes will spur tourism, a sector which has suffered multiple blows — from a 2011 uprising to the coronavirus pandemic.

A mission working near Alexandria recently discovered several mummies from around 2,000 years ago bearing golden-tongued amulets — thought to have been placed in the mouths of the dead to ensure they could speak in the afterlife.

Authorities had expected 15 million tourists to visit Egypt in 2020, compared to 13 million the previous year, but the virus has kept holidaymakers away.

Parents in Ho Chi Minh City are scrambling to find a nanny for their children after their kindergartens were closed due to COVID-19, which in turn drove hourly rates for the service to spike.

Communities of Vietnamese parents on Facebook are clamoring with job postings and advertisements on babysitting service, as both demand from parents and supply from preschool teachers are soaring during the current wave of COVID-19 infections in Vietnam.

High rate

Being mother to a four-year-old child who attends kindergarten in District 7 of Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen Huong Ngoc said working parents in the city are struggling to get their childcare responsibility covered during the outbreak.

“After several discussions, we decided to look for a babysitter on a dedicated job matching group on Facebook,” Ngoc recalled.

One candidate sent us a private message, quoting VND450,000 (US$20) for 10 hours of childcare – a lunch break included.

The price was high as Ngoc saw it, but she accepted the quotation anyway.

“It would be great If the babysitter can teach coloring or singing, but I don’t expect too much,” she said.

Ngoc cannot really be sure of the babysitter’s itinerary either, so she has no choice but to believe the woman’s claim of “not travelling far from home” and entrust the child to her.

Likewise, Tieu Quyen from Ho Chi Minh City also have to settle for a high babysitting rate as her mother is too busy to take care of her three-year-old child, while the private kindergarten she sends her kid to is closed.

Quyen compared the rate in many Facebook groups and found the lowest quotation at VND350,000 ($15) per day, which will increase to VND400,000 ($17) per day later.

“I’m worried about transmission risks [from the babysitters.] Yet the best I can do is reminding the nannies to wear face masks and wash their hands before entering the house.”

Trustworthiness is key

While public kindergarten teachers have a stable base salary to fall back on during school closure, teachers at private preschools have to look for for seasonal babysitting jobs as their incomes are slashed, said Do Hoang Phuong Thao, a teacher at Be Ngoan Kindergarten in District 1, Ho Chi Minh.

“Private school teachers have to take unpaid leave, which is why they are picking up part-time babysitting jobs,” Thao said.

“They offer what parents need.”

Nguyen Thi Kim Uyen, deputy head of the bureau of education and training in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 10, shares the sentiment.

“This is a completely fair situation regarding the needs of parents and teachers,” Uyen said.

“Since the teacher is only babysitting, not teaching, we did not issue any official direction but a general guidance for COVID-19 prevention and medical declaration.”

Meanwhile, parents are recommended to discuss travel history with babysitters before hiring, or check out the candidates’ details at local health facilities if needed.

Others casts doubt on the rise of babysitting services, saying it might hinder the effort of COVID-19 prevention and control.

“Unregulated babysitting brings up many obstacles for epidemic prevention, as teachers have no grasp of the host family’s travel history, and vice versa,” Uyen said.

“Families should prioritize relatives and acquaintances for safety.”

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About 1.3 million people in Vietnam became unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said at a press conference on the country’s labor and employment situation held in Hanoi on Wednesday.

The world’s unemployment rate increased from 4.1 percent in 2019 to 5.2-5.7 percent in 2020, Vu Thi Thu Thuy, an official of the GSO quoted the findings of the International Labor Organization as saying at the meeting.

In Vietnam, statistics of the GSO revealed that 32.1 million people aged 15 and over had their jobs affected by COVID-19 as of December.

Among them, 69.2 percent had their income lowered, 39.9 percent had their working hours reduced, and about 14 percent were forced to temporarily suspend their work.

About 71.6 percent of laborers in the country’s service sector saw their jobs impacted by the pandemic, while figures in the industrial and agricultural sectors were 64.7 percent and 26.4 percent, respectively.

The majority of job losses occurred in the second and third quarters of last year, according to Thuy.

Although economic recovery boosted employment rates in the fourth quarter, the year’s overall number of unemployed people was still high.

The number of employed people aged 15 and over was recorded at 53.4 million in 2020, down 1.3 million, or 2.36 percent, compared to that in 2019.

The decrease went against the trend of the 2010-19 period, during which the number of employed people in Vietnam rose approximately 600,000 a year.

“Among the 1.3 million people who were left jobless, 51.6 percent were women,” Thuy elaborated.

“About 1.2 million of them are of working age, up 456,700 compared to 2019.”

Without the COVID-19 epidemic, about 1.6 million new jobs were expected to be created in Vietnam last year, Thuy added.

The average income of Vietnamese laborers was VND5.5 million (US$238) a month, down 2.3 percent, compared to 2019.

The service sector saw the biggest income decline, which was VND215,000 ($9) a month.

Vietnam has documented 1,505 COVID-19 cases, with 1,353 recoveries and 35 deaths as of Thursday morning, according to Ministry of Health statistics.

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By Lyly Cao, Minh Phuong and Linh Chi

It is believed that buying gold on January 10 of the lunar calendar, which is known as the God of Wealth Day, will bring Vietnamese luck during the year ahead. VNS Photo Ly Ly Cao

HÀ NỘI — Despite the effects of COVID-19, Hà Nội’s “Gold Street” was still packed with early morning customers on Sunday looking for luck.

The 10th day of the Lunar New Year is the God of Wealth Day, when Vietnamese buy gold to bring fortune and prosperity for the coming year.

And although money is tight this time around due to the pandemic, it didn’t stop people keeping up the tradition.

Trần Nhân Tông in where many gold shops are located.

Phú Quý Jewelry Store sales manager Trần Xuân Dũng, said although there had been a slight dip in sales compared to previous years, it is still one of their busiest times of the year.

“The number of customers increases by five to seven times compared to other days during the New Year,” Dũng said.

“However, the sales declined by around 30 per cent compared to the same period last year, so Phú Quý Jewelry has prepared fewer products as last year.

“This year, because of the intense situation of the pandemic, we have plans to ensure safety for the customers when trading at Phú Quý Jewelry. We provide free masks for customers and ensure health [measures are followed].

“We have also placed markers at the cashiers to ensure distance following the order of the Health Ministry. We also ask our staff to strictly follow the ‘5K’ order of the Health Ministry [Khẩu trang (facemask) – Khử khuẩn (disinfection) – Khoảng cách (distance) – Không tụ tập (no gathering) – Khai báo y tế (health declaration)].

“This year, on God of Wealth Day, customers tend to choose traditional products such as rings, zodiac products or bracelets with charms. They just buy small gold products to put in their wallets or wear to bring them luck.”

Among the early morning shoppers Sunday was saleswoman Hoàng Thị Thu Huyền, who made sure she was one of the first in line.

“Today is the God of Wealth Day, so I want to bring lots of fortune home,” she said.

“I went out at a quarter to five which is a lucky hour today, and today is also a lucky day.”

Taxi driver Tuấn Anh is a regular shopper this time of year. And he hopes his purchases will help bring fortune for the next 12 months.

He said: “I went out at 6:30am, which has become my habit for ten years. I buy gold to worship the God of Wealth with a hope of a prosperous year ahead.”

With gold prices peaking this year, many people were only buying small items, but they still hope their purchases will bring a big slice of luck.

Accountant Đào Hương Giang said: “I want to buy a small amount of gold to bring me luck at the beginning of the year and wish my work can go smoothly for the whole year.”

The local gold price was quoted at VNĐ56 million per tael on Sunday, VNĐ6.5 million higher than international benchmark which was at around US$1,784 per ounce (equivalent to over VNĐ49.5 million per tael). — VNS

Vietnam will reap benefits from Germany’s latest committed donation, worth around US$1.8 billion, to the global fight against COVID-19, the German Embassy said in a press release on Tuesday.

“Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged that Germany will contribute an additional 1.5 billion euros [$1.82 billion] in the fight against COVID-19 at the G7 digital summit on Feb. 19, 2021,” the press release reads.

Most of this sum, around one billion euros ($1.2 billion), will go to the global vaccine facility COVAX, co-led by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and World Health Organization, to ensure low- and middle-income countries have access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Another portion will be used for diagnostic tools and medication to treat the respiratory disease.

The contribution will enable COVAX to procure more jabs, distribute the doses, and support progress in vaccine research looking at virus mutations.

This makes Germany one of the largest donors.

Vietnam will also benefit, as it is eligible to receive vaccines through COVAX as a lower-middle-income country.

COVAX has agreed to supply Vietnam with 30 million vaccine doses in 2021, according to Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

It has sent a letter confirming that 4.8 million of these vaccine shots will be shipped to the country in the first and second quarter of 2021, while the rest are expected to arrive in the third and fourth quarter.

“We are not safe unless everyone is safe,” Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was quoted as saying in the press release.

“That is why there can only be global responses to global crises like the coronavirus pandemic.

“For this reason, the German government is backing a joint, multilateral approach, namely the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) coordinated by the World Health Organization.”

It is best suited to provide fair and equitable global access to vaccines and other important tools for pandemic response, Maas said.

“The German government is now providing an additional 1.5 billion euros for this platform. 110 million euros of this will come from the Federal Foreign Office,” the diplomat announced.

Most of this will be provided for vaccines for people in humanitarian crises.

With 10 million euros, Germany is supporting the World Health Organization’s emergency fund, which WHO can use flexibly and at short notice.

Germany will continue to work with its European and international partners to ensure fair, affordable, and global access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.

To date, only 0.5 percent of vaccinations have taken place in poorer countries.

However, the goal is to immunize at least 20 percent of the population by the end of the year.

Funding for this has not yet been secured, even after the G7 summit.

To continue its work successfully in 2021, the COVAX vaccine platform needs a total of $27.7 billion.

Germany’s contribution is therefore an important signal for other countries and international institutions, as well as the private sector, to continue participating in this initiative.

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