Hoi An ancient town. Photo: besttravel

Vietnam no longer at high risk of Covid-19 community spread

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided on April 18 to lift its "Do Not Travel" COVID-19 recommendations for roughly 90 destinations worldwide, including Vietnam.

The CDC recently outlined their plans to revise its travel recommendations, stating that it would reserve Level 4 travel health notices "for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts".

The countries and other regions which have dropped to "Level 3: High," still discourages travel for unvaccinated Americans, including the UK, France, Israel, Turkey, Australia, Greece, Hong Kong (China), Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, and Russia.

Other nations also being lowered are Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Central African Republic, Chile, the Czech Republic, Jordan, Lebanon, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Somalia, Uruguay, and Vietnam, cited VOV.

The CDC currently lists no countries at "Level 4", with this level being renamed "Special Circumstances/Do Not Travel".

The move comes following numerous US airlines and other travel groups pressing the Biden administration to lift the pre-departure Covid-19 negative test requirements placed on international travelers, as many other countries have already done. They also argued the “Do Not Travel” advisories were unnecessary and discouraged travel.

Vietnam willing to deepen Comprehensive Partnership with Argentina

Vietnam always attaches importance to its relationship with Argentina and is willing to work with the country to develop their bilateral Comprehensive Partnership, established in 2010, in a deeper and more effective manner, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has affirmed.

Son held talks over the phone with his Argentinian counterpart Santiago Andrés Cafiero on April 18 to discuss measures to boost bilateral relations towards the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023.

The ministers appreciated the positive development of the Vietnam-Argentina Comprehensive Partnership, even in the context of the complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (middle). Photo: VNA

The two sides successfully organized the eighth political consultation at the deputy foreign ministerial level in May 2021 and the seventh meeting of the joint Government Committee on Economics, Trade and Investment in August 2021. Last year, two-way trade surpassed US$4.5 billion, up 14.1 percent year-on-year. Argentina is currently Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in Latin America. Minister Son proposed both sides give priority to promoting visits by senior leaders, and making better use of economic-trade cooperation opportunities through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR).

He also suggested Argentina create more conditions for Vietnamese agricultural products such as coffee, fresh and dried fruits and Vietnam’s advantageous products like textiles, footwear, wooden furniture and construction materials to gain access to its market, according to VNA.

The Vietnamese official appreciated his Argentinian counterpart's proposal of consider the expansion of cooperation in other fields such as space technology, and biotechnology for agriculture and husbandry, and energy conversion.

The Vietnamese ministry will soon discuss with relevant ministries and sectors about the possibility of promoting cooperation in these potential and practical fields, he added.

For his part, Minister Santiago Andrés Cafiero affirmed that his country always treasures Vietnam’s role and position in the region and the international arena, saying close and effective collaboration with Vietnam in both bilateral and multilateral aspects is an important factor for its foreign policy in the Asian-Pacific region.

He said he will work closely with the Vietnamese side towards the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

Concerns raised as Central Highlands province sees spike in earthquakes

The Central Highlands province of Kon Tum witnessed 33 earthquakes from 1903 to 2020 but has seen 169 just since last year, a massive growth from the previous century.

This was announced by Nguyen Xuan Anh, Director of the Institute of Geophysics (IGP), at an online conference on April 19 between the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and ministries, central agencies and Kon Tum authorities in response to the string of earthquakes here in recent days.

Anh said that from 1903 to 2020, Kon Plong district and the surrounding area recorded 33 earthquakes with a magnitude from 2.5 on the Richter scale. The largest was recorded in 1937 and was 3.9 on the Richter scale, and the smallest, in 2015, was 3 on the Richter scale.

But from April last year, earthquakes in Kon Plong district and surrounding areas have had a more regular frequency and tended to be stronger.

From last year to now, this area has recorded 169 earthquakes with a magnitude of 2.5 or higher.

In the past four days, earthquakes were recorded continuously, with 22 magnitudes from 2.5 to 4.5.

Anh said that if it were a tectonic earthquake, the cause was usually energy accumulation. In the case of stimulated earthquakes, it was usually caused by something like a hydroelectric dam.

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake recorded on April 18. Photo: Google Search

Although no damage to houses and people has been recorded in the area, the seismic vibrations caused by the earthquakes have impacted people’s lives, reported VNA.

The IGP has deployed three monitoring stations in the area, which can better observe earthquakes and conduct research related to water storage in lakes.

Anh said: "Water storage in reservoirs is related to earthquakes, so monitoring, evaluating and comparing is needed to regulate the hydropower reservoirs".

To minimize the consequences, the IGP proposed that the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control considers allowing in-depth studies on the magnitude of the earthquakes and earthquake risks in the district.

They should make a detailed study and evaluation of the issue and immediately establish a network of five local earthquake observation stations in the area. Research on the causes of earthquakes in the area should be conducted, including response plans.

As for hydropower projects and important works in the area, the committee should review and evaluate their design for anti-seismic resistance and raise local awareness of the issue.

Over 2.3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5-12 allocated

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has decided to allocate an additional 1,382,400 doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine donated by the Australian government to provinces and centrally-run cities to vaccinate children aged from 5 to under 12 years old.

Photo: VNA

Together with 921,600 doses distributed on April 14, the institute has allocated more than 2.3 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to inoculate the target group.

Of the amount, Ho Chi Minh City will receive 193,800 doses and Hanoi will get 104,000 doses. The others will come to such provinces as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Quang Ninh, cited NDO.

As of April 18, a total of 19,526 doses had been administered to children of the age group. The injection of the second shots for the kids is expected to be completed by the end of the second quarter of this year.

First heat wave for 2022 to hit northern region

The first heat wave of the year is forecast to strike both the northern and central regions from April 22, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Residents of Hanoi will only suffer chilly weather conditions until April 20 as temperatures are due to quickly rise this weekend.

Hanoians will suffer the first heat wave on April 22. Photo: VOV

The hot spell will impact north and central regions from April 22, with temperatures ranging from 27 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius, reported VOV.

The hot weather will therefore become harsher, with some areas predicted to endure hear of up to 35 degrees on April 24.

The heat wave will then expand to other localities, including northwestern and northern central regions, along with coastal areas, the centre said.

The heat wave will become severe from April 25 to April 27, with temperatures rising to between 35 degrees and 37 degrees, even reaching over 38 degrees in some mountainous areas.

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