Passengers are seen at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, January 27, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam confirms 11,011 new local Covid-19 cases

The Health Ministry announced 11,011 new Covid-19 patients Tuesday in 55 cities and provinces.

Hanoi led in the number of new cases at 2,705, followed by Da Nang City with 783 cases and Hai Phong with 496 cases.

In the past 24 hours, 109 Covid-19 patients have died, including 20 in Hanoi.

Vietnam has recorded 185 cases with the Omicron variant to date, with 92 of them in HCMC, cited VnExpress.

Since the pandemic started last year, the death toll in Vietnam has climbed to 37,780, or 1.67 percent of all infections.

In the latest wave that hit the country in late April, more than 2.26 million cases have been confirmed and 2.06 million of them have recovered.

So far, 76.9 percent of the population have been vaccinated with two doses.

Unique traditional Tet customs of Hanoians

Activities for Tet, known internationally as the Lunar New Year festival in Hanoi capital have gradually changed over time, but several beautiful traditional customs continue to be followed today in every family.

Whether in ancient times or in contemporary society, Tet remains the nation’s most significant traditional holiday.

Not only is it a sacred moment which marks the transition between the old year and the new, Tet also reflects Vietnamese people’s outlook on life, as well as their profound and unique customs and beliefs bearing the culture of different localities from across the country.

Before New Year’s Eve

For the people of Hanoi, the Tet period starts with a farewell ceremony held for Kitchen Gods which falls on the 23rd day of the last month of the lunar year. As the legend goes, the Land Genie and the Kitchen Gods will ride carps to Heaven on that day to deliver an annual report on each household’s activities to the God of Heaven.

From the 23rd to the 30th day of the last lunar month, family members gather together to visit the graves of ancestors, inviting them to celebrate Tet with their families. Indeed, during this time local people are busy cleaning and decorating their homes to prepare for Tet holiday.

Peach and kumquat trees are among the most popular items among citizens during each Tet festival. Hang Luoc flower market, Nhat Tan peach village, and Tu Lien kumquat village are the top places to purchase these trees for decoration.

Along with two types of flowers which are typical for Tet, local residents buy other flowers as part of worshipping rituals, including roses, chrysanthemums, gladioli, and lilies.

Local people also often plenty of time going shopping early as they prepare dishes to offer on their ancestors’ altras over the festive period.

Banh Chung, a type of square glutinous rice cake, is an indispensable part of the Lunar New Year festival. Many families still continue the tradition of making the cake in order to create a festive atmosphere and provide a chance in which children can learn about such traditions.

Tet is also a time for families stay reunited. A traditional family gathering and a meal together during the final day of the lunar year, in addition to another on the first day of the first lunar month, is a long-standing tradition among many local families.

Families typically prepare trays of dishes, including a tray to offer items to the ancestors and other things for family gatherings. This requires a lot of work to cook various dishes, which include soup, stir-fried vegetables, and meat, especially chicken.

A “Mam Ngu Qua”, also known as a five-fruit tray, is an indispensable item for each family in Hanoi and is a requirement to decorate ancestral altars during the traditional Lunar New Year festival, according to VOV.

The tray symbolizes the wholeheartedness and gratitude of the present generation towards their ancestors and the Genie of the Land during Tet.

A five-fruit tray is usually made up of several green bananas, a ripe pomelo, oranges, apples, whilst one can add mangoes and grapes from southern Vietnam, presenting a harmonious combination full of different colors of various fruits.

The New Year

The first days of the Lunar New Year usually involves people visiting family and friends. “Xong dat”, known as the first visitor, is a popular Tet tradition.

The first visitor of the New Year is an important member to many Vietnamese households as they believe that he or she will decide the luck of the host for the entire year. Usually the visitor is a member of the family or a close friend.

Giving children “Li xi”, also known as lucky money, is one of the most anticipated Tet customs, especially among young people. “Li xi” is a small amount of money put inside a red envelope and then given to children. It is believed that “li xi” can bring about good fortune, although it is certain that it will bring great happiness to the recipient.

Photo: VOV

Furthermore, activities such as visiting nearby pagodas and temples at the beginning of the Lunar New Year is a time-honored tradition for many Vietnamese people.

Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam, also known as the Temple of Literature, is one of top places where Hanoians often visit where they ask for calligraphic works and pray for best wishes for the whole year.

A word serves as a spiritual present given by the calligrapher, often a Confucian scholar, and this will convey a New Year message to the recipient. The most popular words symbolize blessings, happiness, longevity, peace, virtue, and prosperity.

Moreover, locals also choose to visit The Four Sacred Temples, known as Thang Long Tu Tran locally, in the capital as it is believed to protect the city from evil spirits.

Each of the four temples points in a direction and worships a different deity, including the Tran Vu Deity in the north (Quan Thanh Temple), the Bach Ma Deity in the east (Bach Ma Temple), the Linh Lang Deity in the west (Voi Phuc Temple), and the Cao Vuong Deity in the south (Kim Lien Temple).

Through various ups and downs throughout history, many customs have more or less fallen into oblivion or have been significantly changed. But no matter where they are, Hanoians continue to be aware of maintaining their traditional customs and passing them down through generations.

Vietnam to open up further after Tet

Vietnam, which has been resuming aviation, tourism and education activities after nearly two years of restrictions due to Covid-19, is set to lift more restrictions after Tet.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has restarted flights to and from nine cities: Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Chinese authorities have yet to approve requests for flights to Beijing and Guangzhou.

In recent weeks Vietnam airlines has also been organizing flightsto Australia, the U.K., France, and Germany.

Next week Bamboo Airways will start flying to Germany, the U.K. and Australia.

Foreign visitors to Vietnam are required to furnish negative PCR Covid-19 test results, and rapid tests are no longer required on arrival.

Foreign tourists are seen at Hoi An Town, Quang Nam Province in November 2021. Photo: VnExpress

People who are fully vaccinated or have recovered from Covid-19 have to self-isolate at home for three days.

A seven-day isolation period is applicable for those who have not got two shots.

Tourists are also required to have medical insurance cover for Covid treatment worth at least $50,000.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is gradually resuming inbound tourism.

Localities that have given its people a third shot or are identified as "green" zones can allow in foreign travelers.

On March 31, Vietnam plans to fully reopen to tourists, with the tourism ministry considering the timing appropriate since by then the entire adult population would have received three doses.

The government gingerly reopened to international tourism last November when 29 travelers arrived in Hoi An Town.

Since then the country has received 8,500 tourists, mostly from Russia, South Korea, Singapore, the U.K., and the U.S.

The government is also set to let 17.1 million students, or 75.7 percent of everyone from kindergarten to 12th grade, return to school next week, according to VnExpress.

Tran Dac Phu, a senior consultant at the Vietnam Public Health Emergency Operation Center, said after the Tet holidays, which end Sunday, is a good time to resume socio-economic activities since 96 percent of the population has been administered two vaccine doses.

Though restrictions have been relaxed the pandemic remains under control, which allows further opening, he said.

The country should make it easy for foreign travelers to enter to boost tourism, he added.

More cold spells expected to hit north, northern central regions in February

The north and northern central regions are forecast to see more strong cold spells in the first 10 days of February, which will cause temperatures to plunge, with northern mountainous areas likely to see snow rain and ice, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The temperatures in the north and northern central regions during February are expected to be lower than the many-year average by 1-2.2 degrees Celsius.

Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

The northeast region will be affected by drizzle and fog, while the central region is likely to witness many days of rain, reported VNA.

MJO (Madden-Julian Oscillation) - the dominant mode of intra-seasonal variability in the tropical troposphere, is moving to the Pacific Northwest, potentially causing local showers in the coastal area of the southern region, the centre added.

Khanh Hoa welcomes first visitors in Year of the Tiger

The south central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on February 1, the first day of the Year of the Tiger, welcomed the first visitors in the lunar new year who arrived in the locality aboard a Vietnam Airlines flight departing from Hanoi.

The 138 visitors were presented with flowers, New Year gifts and lucky money in accordance with the traditional custom of first footing.

Director of the provincial Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Le Thanh said that with events to celebrate first tourists in the New Year and diverse activities planned for the whole year, the province’s tourism sector hopes for a good year in 2022.

She said that this year, Khanh Hoa aims to receive over 1.2 million visitors, doubling that in 2021, including 40,000 foreigners, and revenue of VND4 trillion (US$176.6 million), up 80 percent over the previous year.

Defining domestic market as the main market of the Khanh Hoa tourism in 2022, the province will conduct numerous activities to lure visitors, including tourism roadshows in domestic localities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho, as well as foreign countries including Russia, the Republic of Korea and China, cited VNA.

A family from Hanoi is welcomed at Cam Ranh Airport in Nha Trang upon their arrival. Photo: VNA

Khanh Hoa, home to famous beach towns Nha Trang and Cam Ranh, on November 25, 2021 welcomed the first international tourists with vaccine passports after a long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is among localities selected to roll out the pilot “vaccine passport” program, which is divided into three phases, starting from last November.

In the first phase that starts this month, designated places and tourism facilities in the selected localities could receive foreign tourists within package tourism programs arriving via either charter flights or international commercial flights.

In the second phase that takes effect from January 2022, the scale of the pilot plan will be expanded by connecting destinations through regular charter and international commercial flights.

Vietnam’s tourism market will fully open to international tourists in the last phase, the starting time of which will be based on the contemporary pandemic situation on the evaluation of the two previous phases.

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