People get vaccinated against Covid-19. Photo: VNA

Vietnam confirms 723 new Covid-19 infections

A total of 723 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Vietnam on June 17, according to the Ministry of Health.

All of the new transmissions were locally transmitted.

The capital city of Hanoi again reported the highest number of infections with 142, followed by Phu Tho and Nghe An provinces, with 50 and 37 cases.

Quang Ninh province’s Health Department also registered a further 760 transmissions to the national system after review.

The national caseload has now reached 10,736,408.

A total of 8,381 Covid-19 patients were given the all-clear, bringing the number of recoveries so far to 9,591,486.

Forty-two patients currently require breathing support, cited VNA.

The total number of fatalities nationwide stands at 43,083, accounting for 0.4 percent of the total infections.

By June 17, nearly 225 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered in Vietnam. Of these, more than 201.75 million were for adults, more than 17.5 million for those aged from 12 to 17 years old, and more than 5.64 million for children aged 5 to under 12 years old.

Hundreds Covid-19 vaccination points set up for booster doses

Hundreds of vaccination points, both fixed location and mobile, have been set up across Ho Chi Minh City as part of the city's efforts to accelerate injection of Covid-19 booster doses on high-risk residents.

Seventy-two hospitals, including many private-owned ones, have registered to offer vaccination to date, in addition to commune-based medical stations, according to the municipal Department of Health.

The hospitals are busy preparing all necessities for the vaccination, with certain areas zoned off exclusively for people with vaccine appointments, according to NDO.

Photo: VNA

They were asked by the Health Department to maintain the Covid-19 vaccination service until the end of June.

Many mobile vaccination sites have also been established at industrial parks, export processing zones, schools and major residential areas. Mobile teams have been employed to provide Covid-19 vaccines for homebound people.

More than 50,000 people in the city have received the second Covid-19 booster shot (fourth dose) as of June 15. The southern metropolis has so far given 21 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to its residents.

Vietnam stays active in epidemic preparedness and response

Vietnam has worked hand in hand with other countries to roll out measures to improve the effectiveness of the global health system, intensify exchange and share lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic.

On June 16, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN alongside the Ambassadors of South Africa, Sweden and New Zealand co-chaired a consultation session on the draft resolution of the UN General Assembly on epidemic preparedness and response.

According to participants, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed limitations of the global health system in disease prevention and response, leaving heavy socio-economic impacts, retarding or reversing the results achieved in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and affecting people's health, especially vulnerable groups.

As the country hosting the formulation of the UN General Assembly Resolution 75/27 dated December 7, 2020 on International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, Vietnam has actively worked with other countries to discuss a sore of measures aimed at improving the efficiency of the global health system, enhance exchange and share lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic and good practices in disease prevention, thereby contributing to raising public awareness and actions for disease preparedness and response in the future, reported VOV.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN. Photo: VOV

Speaking at the meeting, many countries expressed their support and appreciation for the initiative of the core group, and shared views on the need to raise public awareness and actions to stay ready to prevent and respond to global epidemics. They also affirmed their readiness to continue to actively engage in and contribute to this process.

The core group involving in the UN General Assembly's high-level debate on epidemic preparedness and response includes Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand, Rwanda, South Africa, Sweden and Vietnam.

The group was formed based on the recommendations of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPPR), established by the Director-General of WHO to review lessons learned from the response to Covid-19 so as to better prepare for possible future pandemics.

Vietnamese lychees aim to go global

To help take Vietnamese lychee exports to the next level, a seminar entitled “Vietnamese lychees go global” was held in Hanoi to support and promote the global brand name of the popular Vietnamese fruit.

The northern provinces of Hai Duong and Bac Giang are the two leading areas for lychee production.

Tran Van Quan, Vice Chairman of Hai Duong People’s Committee, said the province aims to make Vietnamese lychee a global name thanks to its world-class quality.

According to Quan, Hai Duong has over 9,000 hectares of lychees, producing 60,000 tonnes per year. About 50 percent are consumed domestically, 40 percent exported to traditional markets and 10 percent to high-end markets.

The province is home to Thanh Ha lychee, a variety that has made a name for itself in many demanding markets. The fruit has been granted a Protected Geographical Indication Certificate (PGIC) in Vietnam, as one of the Top 10 producers of prestige, honored as a quintessence of Vietnamese local specialities.

“Our local lychees are grown in accordance with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. Remarkably, 189 Planting Area Codes (PAC) have been granted to many localities with a total granted area of 1,200 hectares”, he said.

The vice chairman also said that the province will focus on expanding export-only lychee-growing areas to add more value to the fruit and meet the growing demand of foreign markets.

Phan The Tuan, Vice Chairman of Bac Giang People’s Committee, underscored that the province has the country’s largest lychee-growing area of over 28,000 hectares. Bac Giang’s lychees are the first Vietnamese product to be granted PGIC in Japan and are eligible for trademark protection in eight countries.

Vietnamese lychees aim to go global. - Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

“Bac Giang has 15,400 hectares of VietGAP lychees, equivalent to an annual output of 125,000 tonnes, and 102 hectares of GlobalGAP lychees, equivalent to over 1,000 tonnes”, he said.

The vice chairman also noted that so far, Bac Giang’s lychees have been commercially available in over 30 countries.

He said the province will continue to boost lychee export to high-end markets and try to gain entry into new markets, including Canada and Thailand, cited VNA.

Nguyen Duc Hung, manager of the Toan Cau Company, admitted that Vietnamese lychees are facing difficulties in reaching far-flung markets because the fruits cannot be kept fresh for long.

"Fresh lychees can be preserved for 40 days at most, so the fruits cannot travel long distances to far-flung markets," he said.

Accordingly, he recommended that Vietnamese producers develop new lychee-derived products that can last for a longer period of time so that the fruit can reach global customers.

He also suggested lychees be transported via railway to the EU to cut costs and avoid delay in shipment, which has been an issue in sea shipping.

Saadi Salama, Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam, stressed that products on sale in the Middle East normally have Halal marks on their packages, indicating that the products meet Halal standards.

He hoped that more Vietnamese lychee-derived products are Halal-labelled to expand its foothold in the market, allowing the fruits to be enjoyed by more foreign consumers.

"I visited many Vietnamese exhibition booths today. All booths were well-organized with many eye-catching lychee products. Unfortunately, no products had been Halal-labelled. I hope that they would obtain the mark soon," he said.

George Burchett, an Australian journalist, described Vietnamese lychees as fruit from heaven due to their beautiful taste, though Vietnamese lychees are much more expensive in Australia than in Vietnam due to high logistics costs.

Businesses seek to boost exports to Laos, Thailand

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) will host an online consultation session on June 21 to help businesses increase exports to the Lao and Thai markets.

The event will also raise issues related to the export and import of processed agricultural products and foodstuffs between Vietnam and these markets.

Photo: vietnam.travel

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show trade turnover between Vietnam and Laos in the first five months of this year reached US$708.2 million, of which exports to Laos dropped 11.7% compared to the same period last year to US$247.2 million.

Vietnam’s main export items include iron and steel, means of transport and spare parts, machinery, equipment, tools, fertilizers, plastic products, fruit and vegetables, VOV reported.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's trade turnover with Thailand witnessed a seven-fold increase from US$2.31 billion in 2004 to US$16.58 billion in 2020, with the annual average growth expanding more than 11%, according to statistics of the International Trade Center (ITC).

In the first five months of this year alone, bilateral trade hit nearly US$8.57 billion, of which Vietnamese exports surged 15.6% to US$2.95 billion and its imports edged up 3.5% to US$5.26 billion.

Despite being the world’s leading exporter of agricultural products, Thailand has huge demand for importing fresh fruits and vegetables.

This will create a wealth of opportunities for Vietnamese farm producers to explore the billion-dollar market moving forward, say experts.

At present, Vietnam’s seafood, vegetables, cashew nuts, coffee, pepper, and fresh fruits are also being favored by Thai consumers.

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