Health workers conduct Covid-19 vaccination at a high school in HCMC's District 1, October 27, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam records 15,672 new local Covid cases

Vietnam on Thursday recorded 15,672 new local Covid-19 cases, pushing the national infection tally past 2.2 million cases.

The three localities with the highest numbers of new cases are Hanoi with 2,907 cases, Da Nang with 873 cases and the northern province of Bac Ninh with 794 cases.

Vietnam has recorded 166 Covid-19 infections with the Omicron variant so far, with 92 cases in Ho Chi Minh City, 27 in Quang Nam, 14 in Hanoi, 11 in Khanh Hoa, eight in Da Nang, four in Kien Giang, two each in Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa, and one each in Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Long An, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Duong and Lam Dong. Six of them are community transmission cases.

126 deaths were added to the national database on Thursday, with 31 cases in Hanoi, 11 each in HCMC and Vinh Long, six each in Soc Trang, Dong Thap and An Giang, five in Hau Giang, four each in Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Kien Giang, three each in Khanh Hoa, Binh Duong, Can Tho and Ca Mau, two each in Hai Duong, Thai Nguyen, Da Nang, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh and Bac Lieu, and one each in Quang Ninh, Binh Dinh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Dak Lak and Ben Tre.

The total number of deaths so far is 37,291 cases, or 1.7 percent of all infections, cited VnExpress.

21,002 Covid-19 patients were announced recovered on Thursday, bringing the number of recovered cases to 1,945,611.

78.9 million people have received one Covid-19 vaccine shots, 73.9 million have received two and 26.6 million have received three.

Trade revenue in 2022 likely to hit US$750 billion

Vietnam’s total import-export turnover this year is anticipated to reach between US$740 - 750 billion, representing a rise of 13 – 15% over the previous year, according to industry insiders.

Nguyen Viet Phong, an official of the General Statistics Office, says there remains plenty of room for export activities to grow well in 2022 thanks to robust export growth recorded in 2021 coupled with the country’s flexible approach to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam grossed US$668.5 billion in foreign trade last year, a year-on-year rise of 22.6%, helping the country maintain a trade surplus of more than US$4 billion.

“Vietnam’s shifting of its Covid-19 strategy to living safely with Covid-19 is facilitating business production and this approach is expected to fuel the country’s foreign trade this year,” explains Phong.

Trade activities are set to maintain their growth momentum as the processing and manufacturing sectors have enjoyed a recovery in their production activities. Photo: baodautu.vn

Economist Can Van Luc predicts Vietnam is likely to rake in between US$372 - 380 billion from exports this year, representing a rise of between 13 - 15%, while imports will hover around US$366 - 372 billion, up between 11 - 13% compared to 2021’s figures, according to VOV.

“The country is anticipated to continue posting a trade surplus of between US$4 - 8 billion this year, he says.

The expert notes ongoing Covid-19 containment efforts and the enforcement of new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs) will give fresh impetus to trade, and boost investment and tourism activities, in the context that global trade is likely to see a downward trajectory due to the outbreak of new Covid-19 strains.

Meanwhile, Phi Huong Nga, another official of the General Statistics Office, expresses her belief that import and export activities will continue to represent bright spots on the overall economic picture this year as local processors and manufacturers have enjoyed a recovery in their production activities.

According to recent survey results conducted by the General Statistics Office for processing and manufacturing enterprises, up to 83.3% of respondents revealed that the number of new export orders has increased or remained the same as in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Statistics show Vietnam’s total import-export value in the first half of January 2022 was US$27.55 billion, a fall of 20.7% compared to the first half of December 2021. Experts say despite a temporary decline, trade activities are set to maintain their growth momentum this year.

Vietnam ready to reopen: PM

Given its high vaccination rate and experience in fighting Covid-19, Vietnam is now "confident" to reopen social and economic activities, PM Pham Minh Chinh said.

"We now have the basis to be confident," PM Chinh told a government meeting with authorities in 63 cities and provinces Thursday.

So far, 76.7 percent of the nation's 96-million population have received two vaccine doses.

However, he also warned about existing risks, especially with Vietnam having detected Omicron infections in the community.

Vietnam has recorded over 160 Omicron infections nationwide. Of them, six are community transmission cases, with five in HCMC and one in Hanoi, and the rest are all imported.

Passengers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC on January 23, 2022. Photo: VnExpress

"We absolutely must not become negligent or let our guard down during the upcoming Tet holiday," Chinh said.

Vietnamese will enjoy a nine-day break from Jan. 29 to Feb. 6 for this year’s Lunar New Year, called Tet in Vietnam.

The PM also highlighted the request to speed up vaccination progress throughout the Tet break to achieve the target of immunizing all children aged 12-17 with two vaccine doses within this month and offer the third dose to all people from 18 upward.

Vietnam has resumed most domestic activities and eased border restrictions, according to VnExpress.

Regular commercial flights have been resumed between Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok, Phnom Penh, San Francisco, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo from Jan. 1 and plans to resume more routes to Europe in the future.

Under current regulations, fully vaccinated people and those who have recovered from Covid-19 arriving in Vietnam only need to self-isolate for three days.

Everyone, except children below two, must have tested negative for the novel coronavirus using the PCR method within 72 hours before departure.

In the latest wave that hit the country in late April, 2.16 million cases have been confirmed and 1.92 million of them have recovered.

Since the pandemic started last year, the death toll in Vietnam has climbed to 37,165, or 1.7 percent of all infections.

Ha Long Bay among 10 friendly places to visit in Southeast Asia

Ha Long Bay in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province has been named among the top 10 first-time-friendly places to visit in Southeast Asia, as selected by The Travel, the world's most interesting site for travel tips.

According to The Travel, Southeast Asia continues to represent an alluring and exotic destination to most travelers, with these beginner-friendly places undoubtedly making the trip stress-free.

“A perfect destination for day tours when visiting Vietnam is the turquoise – blue-green waters of Ha Long Bay,” says the website.

Halong Bay, a UNESCO-recognized World Heritage site. Photo: VOV

It reports that the UNESCO World Heritage Site that features unique limestones and giant cliffs consists of over 2,000 islands of different sizes, only 40 of which are inhabited.

The website suggests that by departing from Hanoi, visitors are able to arrive at Ha Long Bay by a minivan, bus, train, seaplane, or taxi.

The bay also offers various types of different accommodation, ranging from US$6 per night to US$695.

Rounding the list of top 10 first-time-friendly places to visit in Southeast Asia are Koh Samui of Thailand, Angkor Wat of Cambodia, Tegalalang Rice Terraces of Bali, Indonesia, and Marina Bay Sands of Singapore. This is in addition to Bangkok of Thailand, Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia, Bagan of Myanmar, Boracay of the Philippines, and Northern Highlands of Luzon, the Philippines.

Online shopping boom continues in 2022

Online shopping will still be booming this year, even if the Covid-19 pandemic is over, experts have said.

The digital economy saw massive growth in Southeast Asia last year, driven by the rise of e-commerce, according to a recent report by e-commerce platform Lazada.

The regional e-commerce market reported a 24-fold increase over the last six years, from US$5 billion in 2015 to US$120 billion in 2021. It is forecast to reach US$234 billion in 2025.

The Vietnamese market is also expected to quadruple to US$39 billion by 2025 from US$13 billion last year.

The pandemic has triggered major changes in customers’ behavior and shopping habits, the report cited, as 58 percent of surveyed Vietnamese said they will continue shopping on online marketplaces because it is convenient. This habit is likely to sustain in the future as 53 percent of the respondents indicated that online shopping has become a part of their life.

Online shopping will still be booming this year. Illustrative photo. Photo: Thanh Nien

Dang Hoang Hai, Director of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA), said e-commerce has been a critical distribution channel, maintaining supply chains and boosting sales of agricultural products, particularly during the severe resurgence of Covid-19.

Sales on e-commerce sites reached US$13 billion last year, up 16 percent against 2020, making Vietnam one of the top three Southeast Asian countries with the highest growth in online retail sales, cited VNA.

There has been a booming demand for e-commerce since the outset of the pandemic, said Nguyen Ngoc Dung, President of the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM). More than 70 percent of the Vietnamese population have access to the Internet; nearly 50 percent went shopping online and 53 percent use e-wallets and adopt digital payments, he noted.

James Song, CEO of Lazada Thailand and Vietnam, said Covid-19 waves have brought about major changes in customers’ behavior and shaped new trends. Five key trends in 2021 are likely to continue having profound impacts on e-commerce ecosystem this year, namely social commerce, User Generated Content (UCG), personalized customer experience, digital payment, and multi-channel shopping, he said.

Though shoppers are returning to physical stores, there is no sign of decline in online shopping, said Tracey Ryan O’Connor, Vice President of Qubit Group, in fact, the trend keeps growing constantly.

Even if the pandemic comes to an end, online shopping will continue to thrive further as it has become a habit of consumers, she said.

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