Vietnam News Today (Feb. 12): Hoi An Among World's 10 Most Welcoming Cities in 2022

Daily Covid-19 caseload continues to rise with over 26,000 new infections

The Health Ministry confirmed the detection of 26,487 Covid-19 cases on February 11, an increase of 448 cases compared to the previous day, pushing the national infection tally since the start of the pandemic to over 2.45 million cases.

Hanoi remains the locality recording the highest number of infections with 2,908 cases, followed by Nghe An with 1,501 and Hai Duong with 1,447.

Among the latest infections, a total of 8,768 fresh infections were detected within the community.

The Health Ministry also confirmed a further 6,075 recoveries on the same day, thereby bringing the total number of recovered cases so far up to 2,212,669.

During the latest wave that hit the country in late April, more than 2.45 million cases have been confirmed and over 2.2 million of them have since recovered.

Photo: VOV

The nation’s Covid-19 death toll now stands at 38,784, or 1.6% of total cases following the confirmation of 96 fatalities over the past 24 hours.

The average number of new cases in the country over the past seven days has been more than 20,000 a day, while the national death rate has been an average of 91 each day, cited VOV.

At present, a total of over 184.86 million Covid-19 vaccine shots have now been administered throughout the country, including more than 166.87 million among the adult population.

During the past three days, the nation has continued to see a growing number of new Covid-19 infections, with a record figure of over 20,000 per day being recorded.

However, under the terms of the Health Ministry's new Covid-19 assessment criteria, 48 cities and provinces nationwide can be viewed as safe zones, with the remaining 15 being medium-risk areas.

The only two high-risk provinces from last week, Tra Vinh and Binh Phuoc, both in the south, have seen their Covid-19 risk level drop.

Furthermore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi remain as safe areas, the same as was the case last week.

Regions classified as having low Covid-19 risks will see most of their services and businesses resume, including non-essential ones like bars, dance clubs, and massage parlors.

The Health Ministry last month adjusted its risk assessment system, with greater focus on treatment capabilities and less on the overall infection tally.

Hoi An among world's 10 most welcoming cities in 2022: Booking

The ancient town of Hoi An was the only destination in Vietnam to break into the list of 10 most welcoming cities on Earth endorsed by global travelers, according Booking.com.

The ranking is based on analysis of more than 232 million verified traveler reviews made on the travel and accommodation booking website. These are the destinations that have an above-average number of properties with exceptional reviews for friendly hospitality.

Tourists in Hoi An in central Vietnam, March 2021. Photo: VnExpress

"To get a real taste of Hoi An and authentic village life, travelers can take a guided cycling tour to visit local artisans and learn about their craft, from throwing pottery and making traditional reed mats to noodle making and wood carving," said the U.S.-based agency.

"After a day of exploring, travelers can settle in for some stylish pampering at Anio Boutique Hotel, complete with floating cocktails and nibbles in the property's elegant courtyard swimming pool."

The ranking is just one part of Booking.com’s 10th annual Traveler Review Awards, an honor given out to 1,261,273 accommodations, car rental companies, and pre-booked taxi providers across 220 countries and territories.

The list also featured Matera in Italy, Bled in Slovenia, Nusa Lembongan in Indonesia and Taitung City in Taiwan.

HCMC shuts down main Covid ICU

The HCMC Covid-19 Resuscitation Hospital, the city's largest intensive care unit, will be closed soon since it no longer gets patients.

"The ICU has accomplished its mission," Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, chief of office at the city Department of Health, told reporters on Thursday.

But the closing date has yet to be announced.

Established at the Oncology Hospital 2 in Thu Duc City last July when the pandemic was at its peak, the facility has 1,000 beds and medical workers drawn from more than 20 hospitals across the country.

It has treated more than 5,000 patients in severe condition.

The number of patients requiring intensive care has now fallen almost to zero, Mai said.

After the closure, the hospital will resume its original task of treating cancer patients.

Patients fill up the HCMC Covid-19 Resuscitation Hospital in July 2021. Photo: VnExpress

There are two other ICUs for Covid treatment at field hospitals Nos. 14 and 16 in districts Tan Phu and 7, which have 600 beds in total, besides 200 ICU beds each at the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Cho Ray Hospital.

HCMC will also close Field Hospital No. 12, which was set up to admit patients with the Omicron strain of Covid, and field hospitals Nos. 6 and 8 also because of the lack of need.

The Ministry of Health has mandated that Omicron patients can be treated at home or private facilities just like those infected by other coronavirus strains, reported VnExpress.

"If necessary, the city will reopen the field hospitals within 24 hours," Mai said.

HCMC was the epicenter of the country's fourth wave that began in April last year, with 515,109 cases and 20,244 deaths so far. But now there are only 618 infected people, 88 of them in severe condition.

The city of 13 million has administered two doses of vaccines to 7.3 million people and a third to 4.5 million.

New Vietnamese smartphone to be released soon

Vietnam will soon have another home-grown manufacturer entering the highly competitive smartphone market.

In recent days, video clips introducing Hero 9 smartphone have appeared on social media. Dinh Cong Thanh, a representative from Thanh Hung Technology, said that the Hero 9 is still being experimented with. The company will launch their first smartphone models in the next few months.

After Vingroup shut down its Vsmart brand, the Vietnamese smartphone market has only had the Bkav.

Thanh said that the launch of their smartphone aims to build a local smartphone brand capable of competing in the fierce competition of the country’s smartphone market.

Some initial images of the latest Vietnamese smartphone to hit the market. Photo: ictnews.vietnamnet.vn

They will target the cheap smartphone market segment for people in rural areas, an area that still has high potential and demand, according to ICTnews.

The company will produce some basic components such as the chassis, battery, case, and software. Other parts, such as the camera, screen and motherboard, will be imported from partners abroad.

"It is very difficult for a company to completely manufacture the components of a smartphone. We choose to combine with partners to come up with a complete product," Thanh said.

Having worked in the field of manufacturing phone components for 3-4 years, he said that he has had enough trusted partners to form a complete smartphone product.

It is expected that each smartphone will have a price of aroundVND 2 million (US$88), and will utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology and facial recognition software.

The company will sell and guarantee the product through its sales agent network.

The smartphone would be installed at Luong Son Industrial Zone in the northern province of Hoa Binh.

Hanoi plans to full reopen tourism activities this year

The capital plans to gradually restore its tourism industry as the country moves towards the reopening of all tourism activities this year.

According to the Hanoi People’s Committee, the scenario and roadmap for reopening and recovering the capital’s tourism is to be implemented in two phases.

In the first phase during the first and second quarters of the year, Hanoi will hold activities to welcome tourists in provinces and cities across the country, as well as preparing all resources and conditions to serve international tourists as soon as being permitted by the Government, cited VOV.

All tourism activities will therefore be launched based on set regulations on the various pandemic risk levels of the city.

The second phase, which will run from the third quarter, with all tourism activities and products in the city are expected to be restored without limiting types, scale, or their scope, whilst offering both safe and flexible adaptation to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hanoi is set to welcome international tourists, with a primary focus on key tourism markets which boast a high vaccine coverage.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Hanoi welcomes a huge number of international visitors. Photo: baodautu.vn

The tourism sector will prioritize improving the quality of cultural and heritage destinations, craft and ancient villages to enhance their competitiveness, and speeding up the building of night-time food streets. This is in addition to pedestrian streets, piloting several models of rural and agricultural tourism development in a number of potential districts.

Additionally relevant agencies were also asked to create attractive and specialized tourism products and services aimed at creating fresh experiences which meet the needs and tastes of holiday-makers moving into the new normal.

Given the high risk of possible Covid-19 outbreaks, meeting all relevant pandemic prevention and control requirements and ensuring safety for visitors and the community remains the top priority.

With this roadmap in place, Hanoi will strive to welcome up to 10 million tourists this year, including up to two million foreign travelers. In line with this, total revenue from tourists is anticipated to reach between VND27.84 trillion and 35.84 trillion.

By 2023, the country aims to welcome between 12 million and 14 million tourists, including 2.5 million and 3.5 million foreigners to achieve a total tourism revenue of approximately VND42.78 trillion to VND55.78 trillion.

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