Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

Vietnam reports additional 48,717 Covid-19 cases on April 4

A total of 48,717 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Vietnam on March 4, marking it the first time the country has reported less than 50,000 daily infections since February 21.

The new transmissions bring the total caseload in the country to 9,867,045 since the start of the pandemic

Out of the new cases, two were imported and quarantined upon arrival, cited VNA.

The capital city of Hanoi still had the highest number of infections, with 5,568, followed by Dak Lak (3,925) and Bac Giang (2,649) provinces.

Also on March 4, 42 Covid-19 related deaths were also announced, raising the total death toll to 42,642.

The same day, 55,873 patients fully recovered from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 7,843,835.

There are currently 1,942 severe cases being treated in hospitals, including 15 on life support.

More than 206.55 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered in the country so far.

Vietnam appreciates US close friend’s people-to-people diplomacy effort

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Vietnam's Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), has had a cordial meeting with John McAuliff - a US close friend of Vietnam, in New York, during which the Vietnamese diplomat thanked McAuliff for his efforts in Vietnam's people-to-people diplomacy over the past half a century.

The Ambassador acknowledged McAuliff's enthusiastic opinions on a number of outstanding international issues at UN forums, and hoped that he would continue to coordinate with the Vietnamese Mission as well as relevant agencies to strengthen mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Vietnam's Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN) (R) meets with John McAuliff - a US close friend of Vietnam. Photo: VNA

For his part, McAuliff briefed Giang on activities that he himself and the Fund for Reconciliation and Development have implemented in recent times, and plans to connect and strengthen exchange between individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) of the US and Vietnam.

He spoke highly of Vietnam's achievements in multilateral foreign affairs, saying he is willing to continue to join upcoming activities of the Mission.

McAuliff, born in 1942, has had a close relationship with the Vietnamese Mission to the UN in New York since Vietnam’s observer mission to the UN was established in 1975, according to NDO.

He was active in the movement of the American people to oppose the war in Vietnam since the late 1960s and mobilized public support to the signing of the Paris Agreement on ending war and restoring peace in Vietnam.

He set up the non-governmental organization Fund for Reconciliation and Development (FFRD) in 1975, and has operated it for academic exchange and philanthropic activities to promote the normalization of Vietnam - US relations.

Vietnam to issue vaccine passports starting April 15

Vietnam will begin issuing vaccine passports from April 15, the Health Ministry announced on April 4.

Head of the ministry's Department of Information Technology Do Truong Duy said that to date the preparation work for the issuance has been completed, VNA reported.

The passport will be available on PC Covid-19 or Digital Health (So suc khoe dien tu) apps. If people don’t have the apps, they can get their passports by accessing the health ministry's portal and filling in necessary information. They will then receive the passports by email.

People will not be able to get vaccine passports in cases their vaccination information is wrong or they’re not fully vaccinated, Duy said, adding that people should re-check their vaccination information themselves to report errors.

Vietnam's Covid-19 vaccine passports. Photo: VNA

Vietnam's vaccine passport entails information like one's name, date of birth, the disease which they're vaccinated against, the number of shots and the date of vaccination. Data will be encoded into a QR code.

The QR code will expire after 12 months. Following their expiry, people will be notified and a new QR code will be created instead.

According to the ministry, as of April 3, Vietnam had administered over 206.5 million vaccine doses.

The ministry and localities are preparing to vaccinate children aged between 5-11 in early April.

Vietnam held by Myanmar in AFF Futsal Championship opener

Vietnam drew 1-1 with Myanmar in their first match at the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Futsal Championship 2022 on April 4.

Vietnam opened the scoring in the 14th minute but were pegged back in the 27th minute by their rivals.

Coach Pham Minh Giang’s team will meet Timor Leste on April 5 and Australia on April 6, cited NDO.

Vietnam held by Myanmar in AFF Futsal Championship opener. Photo: VFF

The regional tournament, running until April 10, will also serve as the qualification for the AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022, with the top three teams representing ASEAN in the finals in Kuwait this September.

Vietnam have set a goal of making the top three.

Vietnam’s tech retailer expands its network to Indonesia

Mobile World will cooperate with Indonesia retailer Erafone to open stores selling technology products in Indonesia.

Mobile World has announced its partnership with PT Erafone Artha Retailindo (Erafone), a subsidiary of Erajaya Corporation, to establish PT Era Blue Elektronic joint venture in Indonesia.

Photo: VNN

The chain of stores of this joint venture will be called Era Blue, which is expected to open from mid-2022 in Jakarta.

Doan Van Hieu Em - CEO of Mobile World and Dien May Xanh chains said that Erafone specializes in selling mobile phones. The Era Blue joint venture will also sell electrical products.

The Indonesian population is nearly three times higher than that of Vietnam, so the sales of phones and electronics may increase accordingly, but Hieu Em said that the electronics segment in Indonesia is only half of Vietnam. The room for Era Blue’s development is still large.

Indonesia is the second country in Mobile World's journey to Southeast Asia. Previously, this retailer opened the Bluetronics chain in Cambodia and currently holds the largest market share, VNN reported.

This is the first time that Mobile World is working with a foreign partner to open a retail system. Hieu Em said, to open a chain in the largest country in Southeast Asia, Mobile World wants to cooperate with a market-savvy business to speed up progress.

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