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Vietnam has seven new Covid-19 patients

The Saigon Times

A health worker collects samples of a local woman in Hai Duong Province for Covid-19 testing. The Health Ministry has confirmed seven fresh Covid-19 patients this evening, March 3 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The Health Ministry has confirmed seven fresh Covid-19 patients, including two imported cases quarantined in Kien Giang Province and five locally-infected ones in Hai Duong Province, sending Vietnam’s caseload to 2,482 as of this evening, March 3.

The two imported cases are local residents of HCMC, both aged 23. The two women entered the Ha Tien international border gate in Kien Giang on February 28 and were quarantined upon their arrival. They are under treatment at the Ha Tien City Medical Center in this Mekong Delta province.

The five cases in Hai Duong, which is now the country’s biggest coronavirus hotspot, were linked to previously confirmed Covid-19 patients and had been placed in quarantine before. They are being treated at Covid-19 field hospitals in the northern province.

Up to now, the country has reported 1,566 locally-transmitted cases, with 873 recorded since January 27.

Data from the ministry showed that 1,898 coronavirus patients in the country have fully recovered, while fatalities stayed at 35.

Consultant proposes not adding new airports by 2030

The Saigon Times

A view of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport – PHOTO: LE ANH

HCMC – The consultant of the national airport development plan in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050 has proposed that new airport projects should not be added to the airport system by 2030 already approved by the prime minister as too many provinces have proposed developing airports.

By 2050, the consultant proposed developing only Cao Bang airport, the local media reported.

Based on the economic efficiency of the operational airports and the experience of other countries, the consultant has listed out six main criteria for the necessity and feasibility of new airports, comprising demand, contribution to socioeconomic development, national defense and emergency, natural conditions and their distance to central urban areas and adjacent airports.

Based on these criteria, the consultant concluded that with 28 airports approved by the prime minister, 96% of Vietnam’s population can access airports within a distance of 100 kilometers, higher than the world’s average of 75%.

The Ministry of Transport is consulting other relevant ministries, agencies and localities over the plan.

Over the past few months, Binh Phuoc and Bac Giang have suggested developing their military airports into those used for both civil and military purposes, while Ninh Binh and Ha Giang have suggested building new airports.

In 2020, the Ministry of Transport also received proposals to develop airports in Cao Bang, Ha Tinh, Ninh Thuan and Bac Lieu provinces which argued that the airport development would serve the socioeconomic development and ensure national defense.

At present, the residents of these provinces use the airports of neighboring provinces within a distance of 70 to 150 kilometers. For example, it is some 120 kilometers from Ninh Binh to the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and nearly 100 kilometers to the Tho Xuan Airport in Thanh Hoa and the Cat Bi Airport in Haiphong.

The distance from Binh Phuoc to the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC is also nearly 130 kilometers.

Associate Professor Nguyen Thien Tong from the HCMC University of Technology said provinces should develop small airports for small aircraft with less than 20 seats for rescue, national defense and tourism. They can take advantage of old military airports and call on private firms to get involved in these projects.

However, policies to encourage air carriers to operate small aircraft should be issued first.

Among the 22 operational airports across the country, only six airports have reported profits, including Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat, Danang, Cam Ranh, Lien Khuong and Phu Bai.

According to Tran Quang Chau, chairman of the Vietnam Association on Aviation Science and Technology, compared with other countries in the region and the world, the number of civil airports in Vietnam is small and provinces’ proposals to develop airports are legitimate.

However, the development of new airports should be based on many criteria and suit the country’s airport system.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Bach Tung, an aviation expert, said most of local airports have yet to reach their full capacities. Therefore, the investment in new airports should be weighed carefully. The competent agencies should consider many factors before deciding if new airports should be built.

Four-day-long heat wave forecast to take hold across HCMC

The Saigon Times

Motorists wear clothing to protect them from the sun while traveling on the road. A heat wave is likely to descend on HCMC for four days starting tomorrow, March 4 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The southern weather center said that a heat wave is likely to descend on HCMC for four days starting tomorrow, March 4, with temperatures in the southern city expected to reach a maximum 34-35 degrees Celsius.

The heat wave will go on from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. everyday, the center added.

Further, the scorching heat is forecast to spread to some southeastern provinces including Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong and Dong Nai, kicking off high temperatures at 35 degrees Celsius or even higher.

The heat wave could also extend to provinces located in the western part of the Mekong Delta.

The high temperatures coupled with low humidity in the afternoon will trigger sultriness across the south. Accordingly, local residents working outdoors or travelling on the street during the hot days should drink more water to avoid dehydration.

Meanwhile, the temperatures could drop sharply toward the evening, with the cool weather being perfect for outdoor activities.

Hai Duong resumes passenger transport services

The Saigon Times

A security officer and a health worker check the identification documents of motorcyclists entering Hai Duong Province at the height of the recent coronavirus outbreak. Many parts of the northern province of Hai Duong were allowed to resume interprovincial passenger transport services starting today, March 3 – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – As Hai Duong Province has ended 15 days of social distancing from today, March 3, many places in the northern province have been allowed to resume interprovincial passenger transport services.

In the districts of Binh Giang, Thanh Ha, Ninh Giang, Gia Loc, Tu Ky, Nam Sach and Thanh Mien, and Chi Linh City, passenger transport vehicles can resume their operations as normal but they have to practice the Health Ministry’s Covid-19 safety protocols.

As for Hai Duong City, Kinh Mon Town, the districts of Cam Giang and Kim Thanh, which were asked to follow Covid-19 infection prevention and control guidelines in line with the prime minister’s Directive 15, passenger transport vehicles can resume normal operations but were told to refrain from getting out of the province.

Before the social distancing order in Hai Duong was lifted, the provincial Transport Department had written to its counterparts in seven neighboring provinces and cities, comprising Hanoi, Haiphong, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen and Thai Binh, proposing that they work with the local authorities to create optimal conditions for transport vehicles from Hai Duong to facilitate the transport of commodities.

However, in Quang Ninh, which is one of the first two provinces to be hit by the latest Covid-19 resurgence, the provincial government has yet to allow the resumption of interprovincial passenger transport services. Moreover, those coming to Quang Ninh from virus-hit areas in other provinces and cities nationwide have to use paid quarantine services.

Small stocks attract cash flow due to HoSE’s plan linked to trading lot

The Saigon Times

A woman walks past a stock quotation board at a securities company in HCMC. Many investors rushed to pour money into small and medium stocks today, March 3 – PHOTO: THANH HOA

HCMC – Many investors rushed to pour money into small and medium stocks, leaving many of them flying high today, March 3, as they seemed to worry about the Hochiminh Stock Exchange’s plan to raise the minimum volume of shares that can be traded in an order from 100 to 1,000 to deal with its system overload.

Among speculative stocks, property group FLC stole the limelight of the market, as it soared to its upper limit and ranked second by liquidity on the southern bourse, with 21.6 million shares changing hands.

Aside from FLC, many other small stocks hit their ceiling prices, such as TSC, SJF, IDI, MCG, HAP. Meanwhile, despite not reaching the upper limits, real estate firm HQC, construction company ROS, and industrial park developer ITA also ended in positive territory and reported high matching volume of 11-15 million shares.

As for largecap stocks, lenders CTG, VPB, HDB, ACB, MSB, steelmaker HPG, and retailer VRE were good performers. Of them, MSB rose a sharp 6.6% to its intraday high. Other strong winners included industrial park developer BCM and real estate developer NVL.

Especially, steelmaker HPG reversed course to end higher and was the most actively traded stock on the southern bourse, with 22.3 million shares transacted.

Overall, the benchmark VN-Index rose 0.34 point, or 0.03% over the session earlier at 1,186.95, with 270 advancers and 168 decliners. Trading volume on the southern bourse improved 9.5% but value remained the same as that of the previous session, at more than 630 million shares and over VND15 trillion. Block deals contributed some VND1.5 trillion to the total value.

On the northern bourse, the HNX-Index expanded 6.16 points, or 2.48% against the previous session at 254.1, with 137 stocks increasing and 66 others dropping.