Social choice how much environmental protection

Strict social distancing measures will be lifted from the northern province of Hai Duong, Vietnam’s COVID-19 epicenter at present, from Wednesday, as the locality will focus on pandemic control while boosting socio-economic development.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Pham Xuan Thang said at a meeting on Monday that extending the social distancing period would be unnecessary.

The province will enter a new state and concentrate on the double goal of fighting COVID-19 and promoting socio-economic development, Thang continued.

The COVID-19 situation in Hai Duong has been controlled well during the past 33 days, the official added.

From 0:00 on Wednesday, strict social distancing measures under the prime minister’s directive No. 16 will end, and 12 localities in the province will be divided into two groups with suitable pandemic prevention and control regulations.

Kim Thanh and Cam Giang Districts, Hai Duong City, and Kinh Mon Town shall implement precautious measures under the PM’s directive No. 15.

The directive specifies that a gathering or meeting with more than 20 people in one room or a gathering of more than 10 people outside office buildings, schools, and hospitals is not allowed

People should keep a safe distance of at least two meters in public places, while non-essential business and services will remain closed.

All religious rites and activities with more than 20 participants in religious establishments as well as all cultural, sports, and recreational activities in public places are suspended.

Meanwhile, Binh Giang, Gia Loc, Nam Sach, Ninh Giang, Thanh Ha, Thanh Mien, Tu Ky Districts, and Chi Linh City will implement measures under the prime minister’s directive No. 19.

Accordingly, people must keep a distance of at least one meter from each other in public.

Non-essential businesses are allowed to reopen except for bars, karaoke shops, massage parlors, discos, and beauty salons.

Vietnam has logged 2,472 COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday morning, with 1,892 recoveries and 35 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

A total of 868 community-based infections have been recorded in 13 provinces and cities since January 27, of which 681 were in Hai Duong, making the province the country’s largest COVID-19 epicenter at the moment.

Social distancing measures were previously reinstated in Hai Duong from February 16.

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National unity promoted

During its 90-year history, the Vietnam Fatherland Front has always exerted efforts to perform its role as the host of campaigns and activities to mobilise resources in all social strata to contribute to the country’s socio-economic growth and ensure national defence and security.

Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Ngo Sach Thuc says the Front has promoted patriotism, solidarity and creativity among people, which could be seen through effective implementation of its mobilisations on realising the country’s development goals and improving its people’s livelihood.

He says: “The Front has become a bridge to converge people and promote national unity. It could be seen through warm responses of people to mobilisation campaigns targeting the poor, policy beneficiaries, the disadvantaged and fellow residents affected by floods, etc.”

In the mobilisation campaign of ‘All people unite to build new-style rural areas and civilised urban areas’ in 2015, the Fatherland Front at all levels has coordinated with other agencies to call on people to donate land and strength to develop infrastructure, develop the economy, sustainably reduce poverty, protect the environment, adhere to the law, preserve and promote traditional cultural values towards building happy and civilised communities.

Thuc says, “the mobilisation has managed to call on the whole political system and a majority of people to participate and achieved comprehensive results. 60% of communes nationwide have been recognised as new-style rural areas as of 2020”.

Every year, the Fatherland Front cooperates with relevant ministries, agencies and organisations to implement the programme ‘Vietnamese people prioritise Vietnamese goods’.

From 2015 to 2020, the Fatherland Front at all levels have raised a total fund of 19.7 trillion VND (over 850,000 USD) for social welfare programmes and over 4.6 trillion VND (over 200 million USD) particularly ‘For the poor’ fund; built and upgraded over 153,000 houses for poor households; built thousands of welfare projects; assisted millions of households to develop business models, examine their health and facilitate their children to go to school.

Vietnam Fatherland Front receives donation for the poor (Photo: VNA)

The Fatherland Front’s member organisations have organized several programmes targeting policy beneficiaries, people with meritorious services to the nation, disadvantaged people, Agent Orange victims, people with disabilities and the underprivileged. They have also promptly assisted people affected by natural disasters and critical incidents, as well as effectively organised search and rescue missions.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc joins in a programme supporting COVID-19 prevention and fight initiated by Vietnam Fatherland Front (Photo: VNA)

As of September, 2020, the Front raised over 2 trillion VND (over 87 million USD) for the national fund for preventing and fighting COVID-19.

Performing social supervision and criticism

The Vietnam Fatherland Front has organised and co-organised 12 central-level supervision programmes on several fields, including policies towards people with meritorious services to the nation; implementation of the Law on Science and Technology; education and training reforms; agricultural supplies management, manufacturing and trading; handling complaints and denunciations at grass-root level; administration reforms, among others.

Mentioning the Fatherland Front’s achievements in social supervision and criticism, Ngo Sach Thuc says “In the past five years, provincial Fatherland Fronts have organised and participated in 4,093 supervision projects; while those at district level 22,679 projects and communal level 466,012 projects.

The Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front has performed its tasks of giving opinions and social criticism, along with monitoring and approving the Front’s activities. It gives comments on over 30 legal documents every year.”

Protecting legitimate rights and benefits of people

According to Politburo member and standing member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong, the Vietnam Fatherland Front should continually reform, especially in its mode of operation, to consolidate its position in the country’s political system. He says the Front needs to exert efforts to fulfill its role as a medium agency connecting political and social organisations as well as outstanding individuals.

The Fatherland Front must perform its role of protecting people’s legitimate rights and benefits; making use of potentials from the great unity bloc; implementing democracy, improving social consensus; promoting people’s patriotism; etc. to safeguard the nation in the new situation, Vuong stresses.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man talks to ethnic minority people in Dong Ma hamlet, Trung Yen commune, Son Duong district, Tuyen Quang province at the National Great Unity Day (Photo: VNA)

“A proud 90-year history of the Vietnam Fatherland Front is an endless flow of patriotism and national unity tradition. Under the Party’s leadership, our people have united within the Fatherland Front, created great miracles that increase the nation’s prestige,” President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man says./.

Entrants to Hanoi from certain districts and cities of Hai Duong Province, the current COVID-19 epicenter in Vietnam, will be required to self-isolate for 14 days for monitoring, according to the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (Hanoi CDC).

The direction was stated on Monday by Khong Minh Tuan, deputy director of the Hanoi CDC during a meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control to review the state of COVID-19 transmission in Hai Duong.

According to Tuan, Hai Duong reported four cases of COVID-19 transmission on Saturday, all of whom are in isolated zones, while other cases of direct transmission from the infected have been quarantined.

Hai Duong has required its districts to comply with sets of COVID-19 prevention regulations.

Specifically, Hai Duong City, Kinh Mon Town, Cam Giang District, and Kim Thanh District will have to follow the prime minister’s directive No. 16, which requires safe distancing in public places and prohibits big social gatherings, until March 17.

As the risk of transmission from the four locales remains high, returnees to Hanoi from these places will be obliged to self-isolate and monitor their health for 14 days.

“Individuals who took COVID-19 tests with a negative result that came no more than three days earlier will be allowed to return to work and study right away,” Tuan added.

During the meeting, Nguyen Hong Dan, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, said requisite measures have been prepared to welcome students back to schools and universities under the department’s management, which is slated to start March 8.

The department has required schools and universities under its management to thoroughly fumigate their campuses.

Body temperature checkpoints and isolation rooms for suspected transmission cases have also been prepared, while mandatory mask wearing will be required for students.

“Students from outbreak sites must obtain negative COVID-19 test results and submit medical declarations to the authorities of residential areas as well as their education institutions,” Dan said.

Vietnam has recorded 2,472 coronavirus cases as of Tuesday morning, with 1,892 recoveries and 35 virus-related fatalities, according to the Ministry of Health’s data.

In the latest wave which started in late January, Hanoi recorded 35 cases, but it has so far gone two weeks without any new transmission.

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