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Hanoi targets to have 10 logistics centers

November 27, 2020 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Hanoi identifies the logistics sector essential to meet the demand of nearly 300,000 enterprises in the city and further support the its socio-economic development process.

Hanoi plans to have a total of 10 logistics centers, and the city has approved investment plans for six, other three are under research and one is looking for investors, according to Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Van Suu.

Overview of the dialouge. Photo: Thanh Hai.

With nearly 300,000 operational enterprises, logistics services play a key role for Hanoi’s development, stated Mr. Suu at a high-level panel dialogue in the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2020 held on November 26.

In Hanoi’s annual investment conferences, the city has always been calling for investments for logistics centers, he added.

In addition to the development of inland container depot (ICD), one of Hanoi’s advantages is a network of major rivers, so that the city is planning to build a network of container ports to boost inland waterway transportation, Mr. Suu informed.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the ministry and Hanoi’s authorities would continue to cooperate to realize the goal of turning Hanoi into a logistics hub of not only Vietnam but also the region.

As the city is pushing for the development of transport infrastructure, logistics services and innovative startups, Mr. Anh said Hanoi could become an example for other provinces and cities in taking logistics as a driving force for socio-economic development.

Overview of the dialouge. Photo: Thanh Hai.

Staying central in new regional supply chains

To further support the development of logistics companies, Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai said customs authorities are applying new technologies to save costs and time for the business community, including the recent deployment of GPS positioning seal system to track all import-export shipments transported by containers.

This latest technology would ensure that 100% of shipments are delivered in a right direction and the right time.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho said the Ministry of Transport is cooperating with other provinces and cities in boosting connectivity among different transport modes of road, railway, waterway, and aviation.

Mr. Tho suggested by taking advantage of multi-modal transportation network and IT technology in operation, logistics firms could significantly reduce their costs.

In the 2021–2025 period, the Ministry of Transport would focus on upgrading transport infrastructure to meet growing needs of economic development.

World Bank Vietnam’s senior expert Pham Minh Duc said that to be part of a new global supply chain with high resilience, the country should enhance its production capability and strive to become a global hub of production.

In this process, Vietnam should grasp opportunities from the “China plus 1” strategies of multinationals to play a center role in the region’s new supply chains.

The most important factor is that Vietnam should have an attractive business environment, strong production capability and a modern logistics sector.

Saigon medics break their back to track Covid-19

February 28, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

It had taken just 30 minutes for Cong, deputy head of the laboratory and diagnostic imaging department at the Binh Thanh District medical center, to finish preparing swabbing kits, protective clothing and necessary documents.

It was still dark as the 36-year-old Cong, along with four colleagues, began conducting random Covid-19 tests in areas around the Mien Dong (Eastern Region) Bus Station in Saigon for the 12th day.

From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., they worked with local medics to take 100 samples of people from Hanoi and the provinces of Gia Lai, Kon Tum and Dak Lak in the Central Highlands.

Then the group quickly returned to their office to start other work.

Medics take random swab samples at Mien Dong Bus Station every morning. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Anh.

Medics take random swab samples at the Mien Dong Bus Station every morning, February 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Anh.

One of them took the samples to the Thu Duc Hospital for carrying out RT-PCR tests. Some received people coming from Covid-19 hotspots to check their medical declarations and take their swab samples. Others traveled to two quarantine facilities in Wards 21 and 28 to take swab samples of those under centralized quarantine.

After a long day, at around 6 p.m., they started traveling with medics in the district to take random swab samples at local restaurants. It was midnight when the medics returned to their office yet again.

The team members have been traveling from place to place and working around the clock for a month, Cong said they initially collected test samples at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport; and after an infection chain was found, they moved on to locked down neighborhoods and worked with the residents there.

In collecting samples at bus stations, they had to work from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m., said Ho Minh Hoang, head of the medical center in Binh Thanh District’s Ward 26. This means the team members had to be up at 3 a.m. to prepare, which was exhausting.

Hoang and Cong later suggested that the HCMC Center for Disease Control (CDC) and bus stations allow them to start their mission at 5 a.m.

“We have never gotten enough sleep,” said Le Thanh Dat, 30, with dark circles under his eyes. He said that due to the massive amount of work, all his teammates worked “with 200 percent of our energy,” so less than five hours of sleep per day had become normal.

To keep their families safe and reduce travel time, the medics have decided to stay at their office and sleep on the floors.

“We fall asleep right after we lie down,” Cong said. Worrying they would not hear the alarm in the early morning, they set up several loud alarms.

During the day, even grabbing a few minutes of sleep was like getting a treasure. A stool, a table, chairs in bus stations, all these became their “beds.”

Medics at Binh Thanh District sleep whenever they have time to. Photo courtesy of Le Thanh Dat.

Medics of Binh Thanh District sleep whenever they can. Photo courtesy of Le Thanh Dat.

After taking swab samples, the group also tracked people who’d come into close contact with Covid-19 patients in town during the Lunar New Year holiday. On February 7, three days before the week-long holiday kicked off, Binh Thanh District confirmed five new Covid-19 cases, giving the medics “unprecedentedly exhausting days.”

The obstinate

Truong Sy Phu, 45, biologist at Ward 25, told VnExpress that he is not afraid of having his schedule changed or to stay away from his family. The thing that concerned him the most was that many people did not willingly start their quarantine period after coming into contact with Covid-19 patients.

On the night of February 8, Phu received a list of locals who had come into close contact with Covid-19 patients and called them immediately, telling them to stay at home and not to meet anyone.

But one man rejected Phu’s calls. After receiving text messages from the biologist, he opened his door and talked to Phu from the second floor, saying he wanted to stay at home until the holiday is over. The conversation turned sour as Phu tried to convince the man to enter a quarantine facility.

“I am sad when people get mad at me in the middle of the night. I also have sympathy for them, I know they are worried, but I cannot step back or break the regulations,” Phu maintained.

Phu (R) talks with a man asking for a certificate confirming he is not from a Covid-19 hotspot. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Anh.

Phu (R) talks with a man asking for a certificate confirming he does not hail from a Covid-19 hotspot. Photo by VnExpress/Thu Anh.

Around three kilometers from Ward 25, in Ward 22, a three-member family from Hai Duong’s Thanh Mien District refused to make health declarations.

They had stayed inside for days and refused to be quarantined before local police arrived at their place and warned them against breaking the decreed protocol.

Since January 28, when community transmission returned to Vietnam after almost two months, the city has detected 36 cases in eight districts. Of these, 35 are linked to the outbreak at the Tan Son Nhat airport and the other Hai Duong, the northern province that is currently the country’s Covid-19 epicenter.

HCMC suspended all non-essential services, shut down bars, karaoke parlors, cinemas, discotheques, and banned religious events on February 9 after 31 Covid cases were diagnosed.

The city has found no new cases in the last 16 days. But the medics still work around the clock, facing infection risks.

Do Van Hien, 44, head of the Ward 22 medical center, has had an unforgettable month battling the virus. His phone number has been a hotline receiving information and answering questions related to the pandemic. He also meets those who’ve come into close contact with patients, checks their travel history and takes them to quarantine facilities.

He said: “During the pandemic, we are needed the most. Medics like us, even if we are tired, have to work hard and cannot afford to fall sick.”

Poor people prioritized in Vietnam’s Covid-19 vaccination plan

February 28, 2021 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – The country has approximately nine million of people or around 9% population living in poverty.

Poor people are listed among priority groups in Vietnam’s vaccination against Covid-19, which is planned to take place in March.

People aged 65 and older are listed in priority groups for Covid vaccination in Vietnam. Photo: VGP

According to the United Nations, around 9% of Vietnam’s population or roughly nine million people living in poverty in 2019, a drastic reduction from 57% in 1990.

Factors that characterized the poor include large size of household, low education and skills, dependency on agriculture, remoteness in rural mountainous areas, lack of supporting infrastructure. The poor nowadays is also specifically associated with ethnic minorities in mountainous area rather than urban migrants.

Under the government’s resolution dated February 26, the poor and social beneficiaries belong to nine groups of people prioritized for the inoculation in the country of nearly 100 million population.

Other groups in the priority list include:

– Health workers and frontline forces (members of the steering committee for Covid prevention at all levels, people working in quarantine centers, contact tracers, volunteers, reporters, among others); army officers; policemen.

– Vietnamese diplomats abroad; customs and state officials working in immigration service.

– Essential providers in aviation, transportation, tourism, clean water, electricity, among others.

– Teachers and employees in education sector; people working in administration agencies having frequent contact with others.

– People with underlying diseases and those above 65 years of age.

– People in the pandemic-hit areas.

– The poor and social beneficiaries.

– People in overseas mission.

– And other people decided by the Ministry of Health basing on the requirements of the pandemic control.

People, who are subject to the first shots (the first phase) of the 117,000 doses, are health workers and frontline forces.

The first batch of vaccine arrived in Vietnam on February 24 from British–Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

Vietnam is under the fresh Covid-19 outbreak that resurged in late January, recording more than 800 locally-transmitted infections so far.

Vietnam calls joint action for Myanmar issues

February 28, 2021 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Vietnam said people must always be placed at the center of all dialogues and trust-building measures in Myanmar.

Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy has called on international efforts to assist Myanmar’s democratic transition with an aim to ensure the people-centered approach.

Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy calls for international support for Myanmar issues. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

The support, including that from ASEAN, needs to respect the independence, sovereignty, and internal affairs of Myanmar while securing humanitarian access and essential services to local people, mostly vulnerable ones, Quy said at the United Nations General Assembly’s informal meeting on Myanmar held on February 26.

He urged stakeholders to exert restraint, avoid escalating tensions and seek dialogues towards satisfying solutions, which are in line with the constitution, laws and people’s aspiration.

He asked UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener and representatives of 50 members of the UN and eight regional organizations to coordinate with ASEAN in stabilizing the situation in Myanmar.

Kyodo News has reported that Foreign Ministers of ASEAN member states will hold a special meeting on March 2 to discuss the situation in Myanmar.

It would be the first of such meeting of the 10-member bloc since Myanmar’s military declared a state of emergency and detained leaders, including U Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

Most ASEAN countries have expressed readiness to attend the meeting, with Myanmar’s military-appointed Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin also asked to attend.

Myanmar has seen an outpouring of anger and defiance from hundreds of thousands of protesters who have gathered to call for Suu Kyi’s release and a return to democracy.

Hundreds of anti-coup protesters who have rallied daily in the country’s largest city against a junta that toppled civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi have been dispersed by police, AFP reported.

OCOP store launched in Bac Tu Liem district

November 19, 2020 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Covering an area of 100 square meters at the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center, the store sells over 400 OCOP products and goods from 15 provinces and cities, including clothes, beverages, vegetables, and furniture.

Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade on November 18 launched a new store to promote and sell products under the One Commune, One Product (OCOP) program in Bac Tu Liem district.

Overview of the launch.

It is located at the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center at No.489 Hoang Quoc Viet street, Bac Tu Liem district.

Covering an area of 100 square meters, the store sells over 400 OCOP products and goods from 15 provinces and cities, including clothes, beverages, vegetables, and furniture.

Previously, the municipal Department of Industry and Trade in collaboration with People’s Committees of Ha Dong and Gia Lam districts and Son Tay town opened OCOP stores in Van Phuc ward (Ha Dong district), Bat Trang village (Gia Lam district), Duong Lam ward (Son Tay village), among others.

In parallel with the launch of new stores, the trade department is carrying out the Hanoi Promotion Month 2020 to boost domestic consumption in the post-Covid-19 period, in which hundreds of thousands of products are offered with steep discounts of up to 70%.

In the first ten months of 2020, revenues from retail sales in the city expanded by 9.7% year-on-year. The municipal Department of Industry and Trade targets growth of 10.5% this year.

Vietnam’s Covid-19 cases rise by 16

February 28, 2021 by english.thesaigontimes.vn

Vietnam’s Covid-19 cases rise by 16

The Saigon Times

A medical worker takes samples from a resident for Covid-19 testing. The Ministry of Health has confirmed 16 new Covid-19 cases, with 12 locally-transmitted patients in Hai Duong Province and four imported cases in Tay Ninh and Dong Thap provinces – PHOTO: VNA

HCMC – The Ministry of Health has confirmed 16 new Covid-19 cases, with 12 locally-transmitted patients in Hai Duong Province and four imported cases in Tay Ninh and Dong Thap provinces, raising the country’s tally to 2,448 as of tonight, February 28.

The latest Covid-19 cases in Hai Duong Province, currently the country’s biggest coronavirus hotspot, were detected while they were being put under quarantine. Kim Thanh District reported six cases, Chi Linh City confirmed two cases, while Nam Sach, Kinh Mon and Cam Giang districts and Hai Duong City reported one case each.

The three imported cases in Tay Ninh Province, aged between 58 and 66, returned to the country through Moc Bai International Border Gate in the province on February 14. Their second test results came back positive for the virus on February 27.

Another imported Covid-19 case in Dong Thap Province, aged 37, entered the country through Thuong Phuoc Border Gate in Hong Ngu District on February 26. The man tested positive for the disease a day later.

In another development, the HCMC Center for Disease Control today said that over 16,440 samples taken randomly from people at coach stations, the train station and the airport tested negative for Covid-19, while the remaining 727 persons are waiting for test results.

Taking random samples in the city has been conducted since February 16 to prevent the potential spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, due to the large number of people returning to HCMC for work and study after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Meanwhile, the Haiphong government has decided to allow eateries, restaurants, cafe shops, barbershops, beauty and nail salons, and golf courses to reopen from tomorrow, March 1.