Ustr report

The Hanoitimes – The latest case is a flight attendant who served a flight from London which landed in Hanoi on March 9.

Hanoi has detected another person positive with the new coronavirus (SAR-CoV-2), taking the toll of infection cases in the city to six so far, Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung of the municipal People’s Committee said at a meeting on Friday morning.

Authorities block the neighborhood of the patient’s house in Thanh Xuan District. Photo: VnExpress

The sixth case is N.T.D, a 30-year-old flight attendant of Vietnam Airlines, who tested positive with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) on March 12, three days after she served flight VN0054 from London to Hanoi, the national flag carrier has confirmed in a press release.

After landing at Noi Bai International Airport on March 9, the attendant took a leave and got symptoms of pneumonia like fever and cough on late March 10. Therefore, the number of people who made contact with her is small.

When receiving news on the sixth case, Hanoi’s authorities summoned a meeting during which Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung asked the municipal authorities to take drastic measures to curb the spread of the epidemic.

Local authorities blocked an area surrounding the patient’s house in Khuong Trung street, Thanh Xuan district, disinfected the places she stayed, and quarantined those who were in contact with her.

With this case, the caseload in Vietnam has risen to 45. The Ministry of Health has not confirmed this case at the time of writing.

Since March 6, 18 cases have been confirmed positive with the virus in relation with Vietnam Airlines flight VN0054 that departed London on March 1 and landed in Hanoi on March 2.

Foreign visitors walk in Dien Bien Phu Street, Ha Noi. Viet Nam was the only country among 10 member states of the ASEAN to see improvement in Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index Report 2021. — VNA/VNS Photo Lam Khanh

Viet Nam has climbed three spots to rank 47th out of 105 countries in Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index Report 2021.

Viet Nam was the only country among the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to improve its ranking this year.

Its overall score was 33.8 out of 100 points, 2.5 points higher than last year, putting it ahead of the Philippines (53rd), Cambodia (89th) and Myanmar (90th).

Among other ASEAN countries, Singapore was 20th, Thailand 33rd, Malaysia 39th, and Indonesia 45th.

According to Brand Finance, the improvement was largely due to the fact that Viet Nam has managed the COVID-19 pandemic extremely well.

“Viet Nam was spared a year of lockdowns and besieged hospitals, and has one of the lowest COVID-19 infection and death rates in the world,” the report said. “Not only is the response to the pandemic impressive – given its shared border with China – but Viet Nam also experienced one of the highest economic growth rates globally in 2020 – one of a handful of countries with positive growth in 2020.”

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the Viet Nam National Brand Programme from 2020 to 2030, which aims to increase the value and ranking of the national brand while targeting more than 1,000 products to become strong national brands.

The brands from the country are managed through efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Department of Trade Promotion (Vietrade), under their ‘Viet Nam Value’ programme.

At a national level, Viet Nam has established diplomatic relations with 187 out of 193 member states of the United Nations and completed the process of negotiating and signing new-generation free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), making the country an important factor in regional and intraregional economic links.

At the same time, Vietrade and the MoIT have supported Vietnamese enterprises to improve their capacity through consulting business development, establishing information systems and updating branding knowledge.

All these initiatives and efforts have helped increase the awareness of the public, international consumers, and customers about the programme and Viet Nam Value products through various domestic and international media channels.

The MoIT also focuses on promoting geographical indications and collective marks of Viet Nam in foreign markets and helping improve the competitiveness of businesses based on quality reputation, environment-friendly production, and professionalism.

The Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index is a research study on the perceptions of 100 nation brands from around the world. It surveys the public as well as specialist audiences, with responses gathered from more than 75,000 people across some 100 countries. — VNS