Photo: Suc Khoe & Doi song

Nearly 42,000 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Vietnam over 24 hours

As many as 41,980 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in 61 cities and provinces across Vietnam during the past 24 hours, a fall of 459 cases compared to the previous day, the Ministry of Health said in its coronavirus update on February 19.

Of the total, nearly 30,000 cases were diagnosed in the community, 12 tested positive upon returning from overseas, and the remainder were detected in the lockdown or quarantine areas. The northern region remains the hotbed of the current coronavirus outbreak in Vietnam, registering more than 30,000 new cases in a single day, or three-fourths of the total.

Official data from the Ministry of Health show Hanoi capital topped localities in infection number, recording 4,869 new cases, the highest daily count since the onset of the outbreak. Notably, Bac Ninh which was a coronavirus hotspot last summer saw 3,040 new infections confirmed, almost double the previous day’s figure.

Other northern localities that recorded between 1,000 and 2,000 cases each include Quang Ninh, Hoa Binh, Thai Nguyen, Nam Dinh, Phu Tho, Hai Phong, Lao Cai, Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Yen Bai, Bac Giang, and Son La. Elsewhere, infection increases were also seen in other localities in the central and southern regions, including Ho Chi Minh City. The same day, the Ministry of Health also announced an additional 6,840 recoveries and 65 more deaths.

Photo: VNA

13 HCMC hotels are allowed to host foreign tourists

The Ho Chi Minh City tourism department on Friday announced a list of 13 hotels and six tourist attractions eligible to serve foreign tourists starting this month. These include Rex Hotel, Sheraton Saigon Hotel, InterCotinental Saigon Hotel, Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint, Liberty Central Saigon Center Riverside, Liberty Central Saigon Center, Vien Dong Hotel, and Silverland Sakyo, all in District 1.

Other hotels are Windsor Plaza Hotel and Equatorial Hotel in District 5, Novotel Saigon Center and Ramana Saigon in District 3, and Eastin Grand Saigon in Phu Nhuan District. Six attractions allowed to welcome back foreign tourists are the Central Post Office, Ho Chi Minh Museum, Ao dai Museum, Cu Chi Tunnels, Sac Forest Tourism Area, and Saigon Skydeck Observatory in Bitexco Financial Tower.

The list will be effective until Vietnam fully reopens its tourism on March 15, by which time the tourism ministry is expected to issue new guidelines.

The southern metropolis last month got the government green light to welcome back foreign tourists under the ongoing vaccine passport program along with six other localities including Quang Nam, Quang Ninh, Kien Giang, and Khanh Hoa Province, and Da Nang City.

Once the pandemic is better controlled, HCMC hopes to receive 25 million domestic and 3.5 million foreign tourists this year. Its tourism sector has a revenue target of VND97.7 trillion ($4.3 billion). HCMC received over 8.6 million foreign visitors in 2019 or nearly half the total foreign arrivals in Vietnam.

Photo: VNA

Vietnam’s 'vaccine passport' is recognized by 14 countries, territory

Fourteen countries and territories had recognized the Covid-19 vaccination certificate, also called the “vaccine passport”, of Vietnam as of February 16, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). They consist of Japan, the US, the UK, Australia, India, Belarus, Cambodia, the Philippines, Palestine, the Maldives, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Egypt, and Turkey.

Some others are also actively considering and discussing technical issues and will soon issue their confirmations.

The MoFA said it is working with overseas representative agencies of Vietnam to actively discuss with and persuade other countries to officially recognize Vietnam’s “vaccine passport” in order to facilitate people’s travel. Meanwhile, Vietnam has recognized the “vaccine passports” of 79 countries and territories that have been made known to the MoFA by the foreign ministries of the respective countries or their representative missions in Vietnam.

Photo: VNA

Careful preparations needed for Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 5-11: Experts

The plan to vaccinate children aged 5-11 against Covid-19 must be made carefully and thoroughly, experts stressed at a seminar held by the Government online portal on February 18.

Assocc. Prof. Dr. Duong Thi Hong, deputy head of the National Institute Of Hygiene and Epidemiology, cited the statistics from vaccine producers and the World Health Organisation (WHO) as saying that more than 60 countries have injected COVID-19 vaccines into children from 5-to 11 years old. Hong noted that in Vietnam, 17 million vaccine doses have been administered to children aged 12-17, with over 97 percent of the group receiving at least one dose and 94.6 percent two shots.

Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Dien, Director of the National Children’s Hospital, said that the World Health Organisation has continued to recommend the vaccination for children. He noted that vaccinated children show might symptoms while getting infected and no one has been hospitalized. Noting that 19.3 percent of children under 18 years old are infected with COVID-19, Dien said that children with underlying diseases should receive special attention.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital No.1, held that the Government’s policy to inoculate children against Covid-19 is right. The Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital No.1 underlined that it is necessary to create consensus among parents, teachers, and students on the vaccination for children to get them to understand the benefits of the move.

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