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At the hand-over ceremony in Ottawa on June 27.

The death toll from COVID-19 reached half a million people on Jun 28, according to a Reuters tally.

While the overall rate of death has flattened in recent weeks, health experts have expressed concerns about record numbers of new cases in countries like the United States, India, Russia, Mexico and Brazil. The Middle East, South Asia and Central and South America are heavily represented in the list.

With more than 100,000 cases of COVID-19 now confirmed in the country, Canada's total is higher than the official numbers from more populated nations such as China, Indonesia and Ukraine. Per capita, they've been hit harder than France, Germany and Greece, among others.

According to CTVNews, the Johns Hopkins data puts Canada among the top 20 countries in the world in total cases and top 15 in total deaths – and that's with the tight border controls that have severely curtailed the number of new arrivals in the country.

The donation presented to OVs in Canada can serve as a symbol for the spirit of mutual support towards Vietnamese expats in an effort to help them pull through these tough time and mitigate the risks of the COVID-19 infection in the host country.

Addressing the hand-over ceremony in Ottawa, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong said that the embassy will continue to provide support for and serve as a bridge to help the Vietnamese community in the country in the fight against COVID-19, and do its best in the citizen protection work amid the outbreak.

He highlighted the significance of the donation, stressing that it is a vivid demonstration of the policy "OVs are an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation”.

The diplomat also highlighted Vietnam’s marked achievements in the fight against COVID-19 that have been lauded by the international community.

Protecting citizens is one of the embassy's important tasks as the COVID-19 pandemic is raging around the world, Phong said, adding that the embassy has done its best to protect citizens and support Vietnamese students studying in Canada to find flights back home.

Its website has updated the COVID-19 epidemic questionnaire for Vietnamese students in Canada, attracting more than 4,000 visits and is highly appreciated by the community.

In addition, the embassy has cooperated with the Vietnamese community in Canada to provide accommodations for disadvantaged students, while working actively with the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada to suggest local universities open dormitories for students until the end of the school year.

Apart from organising three flights to bring about 900 Vietnamese people from the country back home safely, the embassy has also worked closely with agencies of the host country and asked for health protection measures for Vietnamese expatriates living in the Northern American nation.

At the event, representatives of the Vietnamese community expressed their support for the COVID-19 epidemic prevention actions and control measures that the nation has carried out in the hope that the epidemic soon be stamped out.

Tran Lan Huong, who is currently working at the Quebec Scientific Research Institute, said: “I was very touched to receive this gift from the government. I would like to extended sincere thanks to the support and concern shown by the Vietnamese Government for caring all Vietnamese people around the world, especially in Canada.”

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