Photo: VN Express

Vietnam logs additional 11,594 Covid-19 cases

The daily number of coronavirus infections surprisingly rose sharply on February 4, peaking at more than 11,000, after falling to 10,000 or even 9,000 on previous days. Official data from the Ministry of Health (MoH) shows Vietnam recorded 11,594 cases in 59 cities and provinces across the country during the past 24 hours. Of the total, 7,062 cases were documented in the community, eight returnees from overseas tested positive, and the remainder were detected in the lockdown or quarantine areas.

Hanoi capital in the north topped localities in infection numbers at 2,756. followed by Da Nang, Nam Dinh, Quang Nam, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, and Thanh Hoa that registered several hundred cases each.

Ho Chi Minh City which was the epicenter of the fourth coronavirus outbreak several months ago confirmed only 66 new cases, a sharp fall compared to more than 15,000 cases daily recorded during the height of the outbreak last August and September.

Photo: Zing

Khanh Hoa serves 65,000 tourists during Lunar New Year holiday

About 65,500 tourists visited the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, home to the famous beach cities of Nha Trang and Cam Ranh, on the first five days of the Lunar New Year holiday (January 31-February 4). The provincial Department of Tourism said Khanh Hoa earned some 233 billion VND (10.28 million USD) from tourists during the period.

Competent agencies have regularly asked businesses to seriously observe Covid-19 prevention and control regulations and limit mass gatherings. During the period, Cam Ranh International Airport welcomed about 29 domestic flights each day and one international flight.

Khanh Hoa on November 25, 2021, welcomed the first international tourists with vaccine passports after a long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is among the localities selected to roll out the pilot “vaccine passport” program, which is divided into three phases, starting last November.

In the first phase, designated places and tourism facilities in the selected localities could receive foreign tourists within package tourism programs arriving via either charter flights or international commercial flights. In the second phase that took effect from January 2022, the scale of the pilot plan will be expanded by connecting destinations through regular charter and international commercial flights.

Vietnam’s tourism market will be fully open to international tourists in the last phase, the starting time of which will be based on the contemporary pandemic situation on the evaluation of the two previous phases.

Photo: VOV

Government pushes to vaccinate kids aged 5-11 against Covid

The government issued a resolution Friday urging the Health Ministry to quickly buy Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11. The resolution ordered cities and provinces to quicken vaccination for children against Covid-19, and finish giving booster shots to people from 18 years old.

The government also pledged to simplify the procedures for the production of domestic vaccines and give the health ministry a more active role in matters regarding the import and production of Covid-19 drugs.

Vietnam started vaccinating children from 12 years old late last year while the health and education ministries had received orders from PM Pham Minh Chinh a month ago to research international experience in vaccinating children from 5-to 11. The plan has received mixed responses domestically. A survey on VnExpress over the past month received more than 140,000 responses, with 68 percent objecting to vaccination for children in the age group.

A representative of the health ministry said its survey found more than 50 percent of parents agreed on vaccinating children aged 5-11. Parents' agreement is "very important" in the vaccination, the source said, adding that the ministry will carefully assess the short-term and long-term impacts of the vaccination on children.

The ministry has negotiated with Pfizer on buying the vaccines and will place an order based on the government's instruction. Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said earlier that vaccination for children aged 5-11 is not obligatory but recommended. More than 20 countries including Canada, Cuba, Italy, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. have vaccinated children 5-11 against Covid-19.

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