Photo: Thanh Nien

New Covid-19 cases down on October 5

Vietnam recorded 4,363 new Covid-19 cases, including three imported ones, from 5 pm on October 4 till 5 pm on October 5, reported the Health Ministry. There were 4,360 domestic cases recorded in 42 provinces and cities, a decrease of 1,022 cases against the previous day. They were reported in Ho Chi Minh City with 1,491 cases, followed by Binh Duong (1,107), Dong Nai (653), An Giang (172), Binh Thuan (149), and others.

Also on October 5, 25,573 patients recovered and 134 died from the disease, including 104 in Ho Chi Minh City, 15 in Binh Duong, 4 in Dong Nai, each 3 in An Giang and Can Tho, two in Ca Mau, and each 1 in Kien Giang, Ba Ria – Vung Tau and Nghe An.

Photo: MOF

Campaign launched to detect loopholes on anti-Covid-19 tech platforms

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has rolled out a campaign to detect security loopholes on Covid-19 prevention and control tech platforms. It aims to further collect feedback from experts on possible errors and security loopholes on current tech platforms in the field, thereby better-ensuring information safety and helping developers beware of emerging risks.

In late August, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the MIC’s Authority of Information Security, and the VNSecurity Foundation jointly launched a bug bounty program called BurBank at https://bugrank.io/user/NCSC/policy. One month after its implementation, the program received opinions from nearly 90 experts who submitted 81 reports on platforms’ loopholes and shortcomings.

BugRank employs a competitive model that leverages the use of ethical hackers (or security researchers) to detect and submit bugs or vulnerabilities within an organization's digital assets with the potential for rewards if found and validated within a predefined scope.

Photo: VietnamBiz

Vietnam to use Sputnik V vaccine this week

Vietnam is anticipated to use Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for the ongoing national vaccination campaign this week as soon as the factory certificate of the imported batch is secured. The Company for Vaccine and Biological Production No.1 (VABIOTECH) received the first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine numbering nearly 740,000 doses on September 29.

The vaccines, together with those VABIOTECH is producing under a signed contract with a Russian partner, will be used for the national vaccination campaign. VABIOTECH will deliver the vaccines to vaccination sites as soon as the factory certificate is available this week, said Do Tuan Dat, the company’s director.

Sputnik V, known as VGam-Covid-Vac, is a viral vector vaccine, similar to those developed by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson (J&J). It is one of the vaccines with a publicly available price of less than US$10 per jab. It also can be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures of between 2-8 degrees Celsius. Sputnik V has been approved for use in dozens of countries, including Vietnam, and it's also under review by the World Health Organisation.

Photo: Vietnamnet

10 localities set to reopen domestic flights

A total of 10 out of 19 localities have signaled their agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam's plan regarding resuming domestic flights. Several provinces, including Dien Bien, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, and Thanh Hoa, fully support the plan. Furthermore, Nghe An will allow the operation of two-way flights between the central province and both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with a frequency of two flights per week.

Ho Chi Minh City has also basically agreed with the plan, whilst it has requested that several two-way flights between the southern city and Hanoi run each week to partially solve the urgent travel needs of people. Meanwhile, the Hanoi People’s Committee has asked the CCAV to launch flights both to and from Noi Bai International Airport.

Previously, the CCAV built a plan on resuming domestic flights following the relaxation of social distancing measures. It, therefore, sought the opinions of 19 cities and provinces about the plan. This included Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Dien Bien, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Lam Dong, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, and Ca Mau. The CCAV has therefore suggested resuming 385 round-trip flights per day, with 18 air routes to Ho Chi Minh City, a total of 132 flights, and 10 others to the central city of Da Nang.

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (October 5): 5,382 New Cases, HCMC Surpasses 400,000 Case Mark About 45.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered so far in the country, with nearly 10.9 people getting their second dose.

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (October 4): 5,376 New Cases, Over 28,850 Recoveries Confirmed With the latest cases, Vietnam is ranked 43rd out of 223 countries and regions in terms of total infections, although it is 155th in terms ...

Vietnam Covid-19 Updates (October 3): Single-day Tally Drops By 1,467 To Reach 5,490 On average, the country has recorded 8,065 cases daily over the past week. Since the start of the pandemic, the nation has recorded 803,202 cases.