A doctor sends a Covid-19 patient into a hospital in Hanoi, December 23, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam confirms 21,728 new local Covid-19 cases

Health authorities announced another 21,728 Covid-19 cases Tuesday in 60 cities and provinces while HCMC confirmed another imported Omicron case.

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh led with 7,063 cases, including 6,867 cases that have been detected in previous days but yet to be added to the national Covid-19 patient database.

It is followed by Hanoi with 2,499 cases and the southern Tay Ninh Province with 916.

The Ministry of Health also announced 224 Covid-19 fatalities on Tuesday, including 26 in HCMC.

Vietnam’s death toll since the start of the pandemic is 33,245, or 1.8 percent of the total infections.

In the fourth wave which hit Vietnam last April, more than 1.79 million people have been infected. Of them, over 1.41 million have recovered, cited VnExpress.

For now, Vietnam has 346,296 active patients in total. Of them, 6,651 are severe cases.

Of the nation's 96-million population, 69.6 million have been vaccinated with two doses.

Also Tuesday, HCMC confirmed its sixth Omicron case and the nation's 25th.

The infection is a Taiwanese flight attendant arriving in the city on Dec. 29.

Of all Omicron cases detected in Vietnam until now, all arrived from abroad. No locally transmitted case has been confirmed.

Vietnam strives to maintain sustainable trade surplus

Vietnam posted a trade surplus for the sixth consecutive year, a move that has significantly contributed to stabilizing the macro-economy, curbing inflation, and helping the local economy to gain more foreign currency reserves, according to experts.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Van Cuong, member of the National Assembly (NA)’s Finance and Budget Committee, pointed out that the expansion of foreign reserves has contributed to ensuring continued macroeconomic stability, maintaining the value of VND, while simultaneously creating a premise in which Vietnamese products are able to secure a firm foothold within the global market.

Assoc. Dr. Pham Tat Thang, a senior expert at the Vietnam Institute of Industrial and Trade Policy and Strategy, revealed that the nation has maintained its trade balance in recent years, enjoying a trade surplus of roughly US$20 billion in 2020 and US$4 billion in 2021.

Most notably, the nation has been able to reduce the export of items that can be considered national resources, such as crude oil and coal, all of which have contributed to preserving natural resources for the country, Dr. Thang noted.

Especially, despite the agricultural sector importing inputs such as animal feed, fertilizers, and pesticides, has been one of the most important pillars of the domestic economy, racking up a trade surplus in the process, according to VOV.

Senior expert Dr. Nguyen Minh Phong, emphasized that consecutive years of a trade surplus over recent times can primarily be attributed to achievements in terms of economic restructuring and efforts, which aim to increase the value of export commodities and focus on the manufacturing and processing industry.

PHoto: VOV

Dr. Phong underscored the importance of trade surplus in reducing the import of unnecessary goods, restructuring import-export structure, providing fresh impetus for the national economy, and contributing to the state budget, while simultaneously affirming the Vietnamese position within the global market.

Analysts have also highlighted foreign-invested firms’ contribution to local export activities in recent times. Despite the participation of the domestic private sector within the supply chain of multinational corporations and FDI enterprises remaining limited, the continuous trade surplus by the FDI sector has proved the country’s initial success in attracting FDI capital, especially in the processing industries to create high added-value products.

Experts also underlined the necessity of strengthening linkages among domestic enterprises to further get involved in the supply chain of FDI enterprises.

Think tanks also underlined the need to continue exploring high-end markets, such as the United States, the EU, and Japan, to maintain trade surplus in future.

They also stressed the significance of utilizing advantages of new-generation and high-standard free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in importing high-quality machinery, technology, and input materials for export in the time ahead.

It is anticipated that a focus on exporting high-added value goods will significantly contribute to fulfilling the goal of maintaining a sustainable trade surplus in the long-run, according to economists.

HCMC, Binh Dinh allowed to welcome back foreign tourists

The government has greenlighted Ho Chi Minh City and Binh Dinh Province to welcome back foreign tourists under a vaccine passport trial program from this month.

The latest additions raised the total localities allowed to receive international visitors on special tour packages to seven.

Earlier, Quang Nam, Quang Ninh, Kien Giang, Khanh Hoa and Da Nang got the green light to allow in foreign visitors from mid-November.

A group of foreign tourists drink beer on Bui Vien pedestrian street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, 2019. Photo: VnExpress

HCMC, a major tourist hub, previously proposed the government to allow in fully immunized foreign tourists carrying 'vaccine passports' without mandatory quarantine.

The southern metropolis received over 8.6 million foreign visitors in 2019, or nearly half the total foreign arrivals in Vietnam.

Authorities in Binh Dinh Province, home to famous resort town Quy Nhon, last October had sought government approval to welcome tourists from Northeast Asia, Russia, the U.S., and some European countries, VnExpress reported.

Vietnam reopened its doors to foreign tourists in November after nearly two years.

In the month since then, over 3,500 foreign visitors arrived on package tours, according to Nguyen Trung Khanh, head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The country expects to receive five million foreign visitors under the vaccine passport program in 2022.

National squad to gather on January 13 for World Cup qualifiers

The Vietnamese men’s national football team will reunite on January 13 to prepare for two upcoming matches against Australia and China in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

This comes after the national team footballers held their final training session on January 3 after returning from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Cup 2020 in Singapore.

They then went back to see their families and enjoyed a short period of relaxation time before preparing for upcoming fixtures in the final round of qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, cited VOV.

Photo: VOV

The team, led by head coach Park Hang-seo, will gather on January 13 to take part in a one-week training camp in Hanoi.

After taking on Australia in an away trip on January 27, the national team will then return to the country for a fixture against China which will be played at the My Dinh National Stadium on February 1.

Along with competing in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Vietnamese team recently competed in the latter stages of the AFF Cup 2022.

Moving forward, the national squad will make every effort to have the best possible preparations for upcoming regional and global tournaments this year.

Contest launched to promote Vietnam’s traditional Lunar New Year

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) has launched a contest themed “Yeu tet que nha – Yeu ban sac Viet” to popularize inspirational stories as the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival is approaching.

The contest offers a chance for Vietnamese people to share memorable moments, cultural identities and traditional customs of localities across the country during the Tet festival, according to VNA.

Illustrative image. Photo: vietnamnet.vn

It is expected to contribute to introducing and disseminating Vietnam’s traditional Lunar New Year to the domestic and international communities.

Vietnamese citizens aged 18 and above are encouraged to join the contest. The organizing board will present three first prizes worth VND10 million (US$439) each, five second prizes worth VND5 million each, 10 third prizes worth VND2 million each. and 15 consolation prizes worth VND1 million each.

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