An alley in Hanoi's Ha Dong District is under Covid lockdown, November 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam records 15,883 new local Covid cases

The Health Ministry confirmed 15,883 new local Covid-19 cases in 60 localities on Saturday, with Ca Mau, Hanoi and HCMC reporting the highest numbers.

The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau topped the list with 1,341 cases, followed by Hanoi with 1,244 and Ho Chi Minh City with 1,019.

248 deaths were recorded on Saturday: 65 in HCMC, 24 in Dong Nai, 23 in An Giang, 15 each in Tien Giang and Kien Giang, 14 in Binh Duong, 12 each in Dong Thap and Can Tho, 11 in Soc Trang, nine each in Tay Ninh, Long An and Vinh Long, seven each in Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan, six in Ca Mau, four in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, three in Bac Lieu and one each in Quang Ngai, Gia Lai and Lang Son.

The total number of Covid-19 deaths so far is 29,351, cited VnExpress.

A total of 1,645 Covid-19 patients were announced recovered, bringing the number of recovered cases to 1,097,163.

Vietnam has vaccinated 75.6 million people with at least one vaccine shot. 60.7 million have received two shots, and 1.14 million have received three shots.

With Saturday additions, the infection tally in the fourth coronavirus wave has reached 1,517,973.

Vietnamese, Indian groups cooperate in technology application

Vietnam’s SOVICO and India’s HCL Technologies Limited have signed an agreement on sharing and developing business opportunities with a focus on information technology.

The agreement covers various areas, including aviation, banking, insurance, retail sales, as well as fields of shared concern such as resources and asset management solutions, Internet of Thing (IoT), blockchain and data.

SOVICO cooperates with India's HCL Technologies Limited in technology research and application. Photo: VNA

The signing took place within the framework of the ongoing official visit to India by Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue.

Pham Khac Dung, Deputy General Director of SOVICO, said the cooperation will bring about a stride in research, development and application of technology to serve the goal of digital economic building in Vietnam as well as the country’s international integration, according to VNA.

Chairman of Tech Mahindra Limited Anuj Bhalla said that the cooperation is expected to promote renovation in the technology ecosystem of SOVICO, and provide infrastructure solutions, thereby expanding the firm’s business opportunities.

SOVICO is a leading investment group in Vietnam, specializing in providing international quality products and services in the areas of banking, finance, aviation and industry.

Health ministry proposes suspending crowded Tet activities

The Health Ministry has proposed to stop all non-essential activities with large gatherings during the incoming Lunar New Year holiday in light of recent Covid-19 surges.

In a document sent to the Government Office on Friday, the Ministry of Health stated the number of Covid-19 cases in the community has been rising, especially in areas with high population and traffic density.

The Omicron variant circulating around the world is also a concerning variable, despite Vietnam having recorded no such infection, it added.

People visit the Nguyen Hue Flower Street in HCMC during the Lunar New Year holiday on February 10, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Tran Dac Phu, former head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine, said essential activities for economic development and production should be sustained, while other activities could continue under certain conditions, or be suspended.

Choosing to live with the virus means there would be more cases, he added. "People should only go to places with large gatherings when it's truly necessary, avoid parties and reduce the number of people in meetings, especially in the coming times."

Vietnam has recorded over 1.5 million Covid-19 cases in the fourth coronavirus wave, with over 29,000 deaths. Both infections and deaths have been on the rise lately, with around 15,000 new cases daily, reported VnExpress.

Compared to the previous month, the number of community transmission cases has risen by 186.4 percent, and the number of severe cases, by 62.2 percent.

Tet, or the Lunar New Year, is Vietnam's biggest holiday which normally involves a lot of festivals, partying and traveling. The holiday peaks on February 1 this year.

Typhoon Rai to cause heavy rains in central coastal region

Typhoon Rai, the ninth storm to hit Vietnam this year, is forecast to cause heavy rain across the area spanning from central Thua Thien – Hue to Khanh Hoa provinces between the evening of December 18 and December 19, with common rainfall of 100-250mm and over 300mm in some places.

Warnings of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and localized flooding in low-lying and riverside areas have been issued by the national weather agency.

Moving path of Typhoon Rai. Photo: National Centre of Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting

According to the National Centre of Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 1 pm on December 18, the storm's eye was about 650km east-southeast of the Binh Dinh-Khanh Hoa coast, with wind speeds sustaining 150-165km per hour near its centre.

It is forecast to move west northwest at a speed of 20-25km per hour until it reaches the sea area off the coast of Binh Dinh and Khanh Hoa at 1pm on December 19, with the strongest wind speeds near the centre of the storm being at 135-165km per hour, according to VNA.

From the night of December 18 to December 20, the mainland of Thua Thien-Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Khanh Hoa, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen are expected to see strong winds.

In response to the storm, Quang Tri has issued its evacuation plan, prioritizing evacuating nearly 28,000 people on Con Co island and in four coastal districts of Vinh Linh, Gio Linh, Trieu Phong and Hai Lang.

Meanwhile, facing the impact of bad weather caused by typhoon Rai, Vietnam Airlines decided to cancel flights to and from Quang Nam, Quy Nhon and Tuy Hoa on December 19.

New book on President Ho Chi Minh’s national salvation journey introduced

The Ho Chi Minh Museum’s chapter in Ho Chi Minh City on December 17 held a press conference to give the public insights into a freshly published book on the late President Ho Chi Minh’s national salvation journey.

The nearly 1,000-page book was compiled and published under the collaboration of the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the Truth National Political Publishing House, the Management Board of the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports.

The new book on President Ho Chi Minh’s national salvation journey. Photo: VNA

With four main parts, it comprises 110 speeches that were presented by experts and scholars from Hanoi, HCM City and many other cities and provinces at a symposium on the journey of the late President, known in those days as Nguyen Tat Thanh.

Dr. Vu Manh Ha, Director of the Ho Chi Minh Museum, said the book fully demonstrates the journey and its meaning to the cause of national liberation, construction and protection, cited VOV.

The speeches have provided more valuable information sources to deepen key issued revolving around the President’s quest for national salvation, he added.

On June 5, 1911, Nguyen Tat Thanh, using the name of Van Ba, boarded vessel Latouche-Tréville in Vietnam and headed overseas to seek ways to save the country.

During his 30-year journey, Nguyen Tat Thanh, who later became President Ho Chi Minh, found a path to national liberation, turning Vietnam into an independent, free, and unified country moving towards socialism.

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