Record companys

Oxalis, the only private company licensed to explore and conduct adventure tours in the central province, welcomed 6,000 Vietnamese nationals last year, increasing thrice against the previous years.

The total number of cavers, however, was down 50 percent from the previous year to 7,000 as inbound tourism plunged due to travel restrictions.

Of the 7,000 visitors, 1,000 were foreign cavers who had entered Vietnam prior to the government halting international flights in late March last year to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Nguyen Chau A, CEO of Oxalis, said the company, with about 500 employees, focuses exclusively on adventure tours to explore caves in Quang Binh, including Son Doong, the world’s largest cave, and Tu Lan.

With international flights and foreigner entry remaining suspended except for special cases , local businesses are focusing on boosting domestic tourism.

Currently, around 185 slots remain available to tour Son Doong in 2021, and 287 Tu Lan tours are up for grabs, according to Oxalis.

Son Doong opened to tourists in 2013. It comprises at least 150 individual caves, a dense subterranean jungle and several underground rivers. British magazine Conde Nast Traveler named Son Doong one of seven must-explore wonders of 2020.

Tu Lan, a popular setting for film shoots, was discovered in 2010, with two entrances stretching 2.2 kilometers. Tourists usually explore Tu Lan along with other caves in the system, including Chuot, Hung Ton, Ken, and Kim.

To ensure safety, the company does not receive visitors from pandemic-hit areas as recommended by the Ministry of Health. Cavers joining the tour are required to submit medical declarations.

“Patients 2422, 2423, 2425 and 2426” from Hai Duong were already in quarantine. They are being treated at field hospitals in the northern province.

“Patient 2424” is a 24-year-old woman from Thoi Lai District, Can Tho City, who entered Vietnam illegally through the border at Hong Ngu District, Dong Thap Province on February 23 and was quarantined soon after. Her test results returned positive for the novel coronavirus on February 25.

In the past 29 days, Vietnam has recorded 831 community transmissions in 13 localities. Hai Duong is the biggest hotspot with 647 cases, following by Quang Ninh with 61 and HCMC with 36. Ten of these localities haven’t recorded new community transmissions for the past 14 days.

With the latest cases, the nation’s Covid-19 tally has increased to 2,426 with 1,839 recoveries and 35 deaths.

Twenty-seven more COVID-19 patients in Hai Duong province have been give the all-clear from coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Photo: VNA)

The new infections brought the total number of patients in the country to 2,426, including 831 domestically-transmitted cases since new outbreaks hit Vietnam on January 27, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

By the afternoon of February 26, 10 provinces and cities, which had been previously struck by the latest outbreaks, had seen no new locally-transmitted cases for 14 days, including Hoa Binh, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Binh Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Giang, Gia Lai, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Subcommittee for Treatment reported that 35 more patients were declared to recover from the disease on February 26, raising the total number of recoveries to 1,839.

Meanwhile, the number of deaths related to COVID-19 was still kept at 35.

Among active patients undergoing treatment at medical establishments, 45 tested negative for coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once, 60 twice and 72 thrice.

As many as 76,495 people who had close contact with confirmed patients or entered Vietnam from pandemic-hit region are being quarantined nationwide, including 580 in hospitals, 12,038 in concentrated quarantine establishments and the remaining 63,877 at their residences./. VNA

On the first day, tons of agricultural products were available at General Merchandise Store & Supermarket (GMS) AEON – Long Bien, AEON – Ha Dong and AEON MaxValu Express Riverside Supermarket (Thanh Xuan, Hanoi), AEON MaxValu Express EcoPark Supermarket (Hung Yen).

These products including cabbage, kohlrabi, carrots, tomatoes, guava pears, … are packed in bags of 4-5 kg ​​or more with the same price of 30,000 VND / bag. AEON Vietnam purchased products for “rescure” from VietGAP certified farming suppliers and cooperatives in order to bring safe and quality products to consumers from Hai Duong province.

Representative of AEON Vietnam, Ms. Tran Thu Quynh – Northern Merchandising General Manager, said: “Understanding the difficulties of farmers in Hai Duong, AEON Vietnam would like to join hands to support and promote the consumption of their agricultural products. We hope that Covid-19 situation will be more positive, and lives of the people here will become stable again.

In the complicated context of the Covid-19, AEON Vietnam keeps maintaining and strengthening prevention measures in accordance with government regulations at all of its business locations nationwide as well as during the transportation of agricultural products. It is AEON Vietnam’s effort in ensuring a safe and secure shopping environment for customers and joining hands with the community to prevent the epidemic.

In February 2020, AEON Vietnam also participated in the activity of “rescue” agricultural products for farmers in the Southern provinces. In only 05 days (1/2 – 5/2/2020), the company has supported to consume nearly 20 tons of dragon fruit and nearly 60 tons of watermelon.

Aiming to be a needed retailer, AEON Vietnam is constantly striving to meet the needs of customers, enrich their lifestyle and contribute to the socio-economic development of Vietnam.

PV

The Japanese trading house will pull out of the 2-gigawatt Vinh Tan 3 project, planned to be located in the southern province of Binh Thuan, because of climate change targets, Reuters reported, citing two anonymous sources.

Without mentioning Vinh Tan 3 specifically, Mitsubishi said in a statement that it was committed to reducing its investment in coal power in line with international climate goals.

The 2-gigawatt plant was originally scheduled to come online in 2024.

OneEnergy, a joint venture of Mitsubishi and Hong Kong’s CLP group, holds a 49 percent interest in the $2 billion project. State-owned utility Vietnam Electricity owns another 29 percent. Chinese companies are handling materials procurement, construction and equipment delivery.

This marks Mitsubishi’s first withdrawal from a coal plant project. The trading house has said it will not build any new facilities of this type after Vung Ang 2, a Nikkei report said.

Mitsubishi still has a stake in the Vung Ang 2 coal power plant being built in the central province of Ha Tinh, which is more widely known after being subject to critical scrutiny by environmental and other groups as well as investors.