Health workers perform Covid-19 vaccination in HCMC's District 1, October 27, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam records 10,209 new local Covid cases, highest in two months

Vietnam on Thursday recorded 10,209 new local Covid-19 cases, bringing the national tally of infections in the new wave to 1,059,481.

Thursday's figure is the highest daily coronavirus infection tally in the past 53 days.

The three localities with the highest number of new cases were Ho Chi Minh City with 1,609 cases, Binh Duong with 686 cases and Tay Ninh with 632 cases.

139 deaths were added to the national database on Thursday, with 42 cases in HCMC, 22 in An Giang, 16 in Kien Giang, 14 in Binh Duong, seven in Dong Nai, six in Long An, five each in Bac Lieu and Tien Giang, three each in Nghe An, Tra Vinh, Tay Ninh and Vinh Long, two each in Binh Thuan, Can Tho, Ben Tre and Soc Trang, and one each in Ninh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, cited VnExpress.

The daily fatality on Thursday was also the highest recorded within the past 44 days. So far, 23,476 deaths have been recorded, accounting for 2.2 percent of all infections.

6,723 Covid-19 patients were announced recovered on Thursday, bringing the number of recovered cases to 881,593.

Vietnam has vaccinated 65.7 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shots. 37.8 million people have received two doses.

Vietnam elected to UNESCO Executive Board for 2021-2025 term

With a very high number of votes, Vietnam officially won the election by UNESCO member states to the Executive Board during the 41st session of the General Conference of UNESCO held on November 17 in Paris, France.

In Group 4 Asian and Pacific States, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Cook Islands and China also got elected to the Executive Board.

The UNESCO Executive Board is one of the three constitutional organs of the UN agency (the others being the General Conference and the Secretariat) and it is elected by the General Conference.

With 163 out of 178 approval votes, Vietnam not only became one of six countries representing Group 4 in the UNESCO Executive Council for the new term, it is also one of the countries that won the highest number of votes in this election.

Right after the election results were announced, Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to UNESCO, the very high voting result is a reflection of the prestige that Vietnam has won at multilateral international forums over the years, from its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to its contributions to the UN in different roles at UNESCO.

The President of the UNESCO General Assembly announces the election results. Photo: VOV

“Vietnam has always earned plaudits from the UNESCO and its member countries as it is always one of the countries that most effectively implement UNESCO's cooperation programs. The nation has got plenty of experience from its participation in the UNESCO's bodies from previous terms. This will serve as a very good basis for Vietnam to go ahead with its participation as a way of raising the level of its contribution to the organization's activities as well as the international community in the coming time," said Le Thi Hong Van.

With the election results, Vietnam will also become a member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the fifth time, one of the two most important bodies of the organization, according to VOV.

The UNESCO Executive Board consists of 58 member, acting under the authority of the General Conference the Board examines the program of work for the Organization and corresponding budget estimates submitted to it by the Director-General.

Executive Council members play an important role in devising UNESCO's strategies and action plans.

According to Mai Phan Dung, secretary general of the UNESCO Vietnam National Committee, with its prestige and experience, the country continue to assume the dual responsibility well with UNESCO and with the international community during the next term.

Regarding Vietnam's priorities as well as its contributions to the UNESCO in its new role, Mai Phan Dung said the nation will make its contributions to major issues, to the implementation of major action program that UNESCO plans to carry out in the near future.

HCMC shuts down bars, karaoke parlors two days after reopening

Two days after allowing bars, clubs, massage and karaoke parlors to reopen, HCMC on Thursday ordered them to close down amid complex Covid-19 situations.

In a document issued Thursday by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, bars, dance clubs, spa, massage and karaoke parlors will be suspended until further notice.

A karaoke parlor in HCMC has been closed down since February to prevent Covid-19. Photo: VnExpress

The municipal Department of Health will be responsible for building Covid-19 safety protocols for businesses and services like bars, spa and massage parlors, the document said.

Karaoke and massage parlors, bars and night clubs in HCMC have been closed for around seven months now. There are around 680 such establishments in the city, VnExpress reported.

Cinemas and libraries are still allowed, but all employees and participants must either be fully vaccinated with two doses, recovered from Covid-19 or test negative for the coronavirus within the last 72 hours.

Vietnam to resume int’l commercial flights, apply vaccine passports soon

Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Le Thi Thu Hang on November 18 provided more information about Vietnam’s plan to resume regular international commercial flights and the application of “vaccine passports”.

At the ministry's regular press conference, she said under the Government’s Resolution No 128, issued on October 11, on safe and flexible adaptation to and effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic, relevant agencies have carried out many measures to facilitate production and business recovery, boost socio-economic development, and bring people’s life back to the new normal.

Da Nang city welcomes the first foreign tourists boarding a pilot international flight on November 17 after a hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: VNA

On November 8, the Ministry of Transport submitted to the Prime Minister a plan to resume regular international flights between now and the third quarter of 2022 in order to tackle difficulties facing aviation businesses. The move is also meant to promote economic and tourism recovery in the country and meet people’s demand for air travel, thus helping with socio-economic recovery and development, and international integration in the new normal.

Hang added the Government recently approved the MoFA’s proposal on the application of “vaccine passports” and agreed in principle on the expansion of the group of people with vaccine passports allowed to enter Vietnam, including overseas Vietnamese and their families coming to the country to visit relatives and travel as regulated in the Government’s Decree No 82 on visa exemption for overseas Vietnamese and foreigners who are their wives/husbands/children, or Vietnamese citizens, cited VNA.

The ministry is coordinating with relevant agencies to complete detailed instructions for applying vaccine passports at an appropriate point of time, according to the spokeswoman.

Vietnam among top 10 countries with largest installed solar power capacity

Visual Capitalist, one of the fastest growing publishers globally which focuses on producing content on energy, technology, and the global economy, has listed Vietnam among the world’s top 10 for largest installed solar power capacity.

The website quoted data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) which mapped the solar power capacity of each country during the year. This includes both solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power capacity.

Vietnam ranks 8th place in the list of top 10 countries with largest installed solar power capacity. Photo: Visual Capitalist

The results indicate that the country ranked in eighth place in the list, with the capacity of installed solar power nationwide reaching 16,504 MW, accounting for 2.3% of global capacity. Indeed, its solar power capacity reached 60 W per capita.

China remains as the undisputed leader in terms of solar installations, with 35.6% of global capacity, according to Visual Capitalist. The country has the world’s largest wind and solar project in the pipeline, which could add a further 400,000MW to its overall clean energy capacity, VOV reported.

Following behind China is the United States, which reached 75,572 MW of solar power capacity, making up 10.6%.

The remaining countries among the top 10 include Japan with 9.4%, Germany with 7.5%, India with 5.5%, Australia with 2.5%, the Republic of Korea with 2%, and Spain with 2%.

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