Vietnam News Today (November 5): Made-in-Vietnam Satellite Launched on November 7

Collecting a sample for Covid-19 testing in Dien Bien province. Photo: VNA

Covid-19: New cases on November 4 top 6,580

Vietnam recorded 6,580 cases of Covid-19 in 49 localities during 24 hours from 4pm November 3 to 4 p.m. November 4, including 4 imported cases, according to the Ministry of Health.

Ho Chi Minh City recorded the highest number of infections with 981, followed by neighboring province of Binh Duong with 948 and Dong Nai with 939.

The national tally now stands at 946,043, cited VNA.

According to the Ministry of Health’s report, 3,093 patients nationwide are in serious conditions, with 297 requiring invasive ventilation and 20 on life support (ECMO).

On the day, the country saw 59 deaths from the pandemic. The death toll now hits 22,342.

A further 1,731 patients were given the all-clear, taking the total number of recoveries to 835,406.

By November 3, the country had injected over 84.88 million doses of vaccines to date, with more than 26.07 million people now fully inoculated.

Vietnam, Russia to ink protocol on automobile production cooperation

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An and his Russian counterpart Alexey Gruzdev recently had an online working session, during which the Russian side mentioned issues related to promoting the implementation of a protocol on cooperation in the automobile industry between the two countries.

Deputy Minister Gruzdev stressed solutions to handle obstacles in early granting a certificate of eligibility for automobile manufacturing and assembly to the GAZ Thanh Dat, a joint venture between the Russian automotive manufacturer Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod (GAZ) and Vietnam’s Thanh Dat Group, as well as contents related to approving the joint venture’s 2021 production plan.

Photo: VNN

According to Gruzdev, the number of sets of spare parts and components that has imported into Vietnam, and those are expected to import in 2021 to prepare for automobile assembly, is more than 230 sets.

He wished that the joint venture’s automobile assembly factory will be soon put into operation, contributing to raising the localization rate and creating new jobs for local laborers, VNN reported.

Deputy Minister An affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to cooperation projects with Russia on producing motorized vehicles, and considers this an important premise for bilateral cooperation in the industrial field in the coming time.

He suggested the Russian enterprise quickly complete its dossiers so that the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade can review and approve the production plan, and issue a certificates of eligibility for automobile manufacturing and assembly as soon as possible.

The two deputy ministers agreed to complete relevant procedures in order to sign the Protocol during Vietnam's high-level visit to Russia in early December this year.

JAXA: Made-in-Vietnam satellite to be launched on November 7

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that Vietnam's NanoDragon satellite will be put on the launch pad for the third time on November 7.

According to an official announcement of the JAXA on November 4, its Epsilon-5 rocket, which will carry Vietnam’s NanoDragon satellite and eight other made-in-Japan satellites, will be launched into the outer space from the Uchinoura Space Centre in Kagoshima prefecture at between 9:48-9:59 am (local time), according to VOV.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that Vietnam's NanoDragon satellite will be put on the launch pad for the third time on November 7. Photo: VOV

Previously, the JAXA had to stop launching Epsilon-5 twice. On October 1, about a minute before launching the rocket, JAXA stopped the process to check the machinery system. In another attempt to launch the rocket on October 7, the agency had to cancel its plan because of unfavorable weather.

The NanoDragon, a nano-layer cubesat satellite which weighs 3.8 kilograms, was developed by the Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC) under the under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. The development of NanoDragon satellite is part of VNSC's "made in Vietnam" small satellite development roadmap.

Earlier, it was delivered to Japan on August 11 and tested at the Uchinoura Space Centre from August 16-17 before being officially transferred to the JAXA for launching under the second "Innovative satellite technology demonstration" program.

Safe pandemic control necessary to welcome back international tourists

Pham Thu Hang, deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has introduced safe measures against Covid-19 for both international travelers and locals in the context of Phu Quoc and some Vietnamese localities set to welcome the return of international tourists.

During the course of a virtual press briefing held by the Foreign Ministry on November 4, Hang stated, “Recently, the Vietnamese Government has agreed upon a pilot roadmap to welcome international tourists back to Vietnam. Accordingly, the roadmap to reopen international tourism is divided into three phases: Phase 1 from November 2021; phase 2 from January 2022 and phase 3 from the second quarter of 2022.”

Phase 1 is set to be a pilot scheme which will welcome international guests under package tourism programs, through charter flights and commercial flights in Phu Quoc city in Kien Giang province, Cam Ranh in Khanh Hoa province, Quang Nam, and Da Nang.

As a means of ensuring pandemic prevention and control, international visitors who wish to visit a locality that is piloting welcoming international visitors must have full epidemiological documents at the request of competent Vietnamese agencies, a Covid-19 vaccination certificate, or a certificate of recovery from Covid-19.

Furthermore, according to Hang, tourists must also ensure that they fully comply with pandemic prevention and control regulations in accordance with the guidance of relevant agencies and localities.

Phu Quoc and some Vietnamese localities are set to welcome the return of international tourists. Photo: VOV

As part of the spirit of ensuring absolute safety for the health of local citizens, localities that are piloting receiving international visitors have been urgently injected two doses of Covid-19 vaccines in order to create antibodies for all people, including all employees working locally.

This is being done by organizing a number of large-scale resorts, tourist spots, and resorts into separate resorts specifically for international tourists, Hang added.

Also at the press briefing, regarding direct flights to boost comprehensive Vietnam – US cooperation, the spokesperson highlighted the significance of the direct flights from Vietnam to the US as it will contribute to stepping up the all-around cooperation between the two nations, especially in economy, trade, tourism, education, and people-to-people exchange.

Regarding reports that the Vietnam Airlines is to conduct the first regular commercial flight to the US, slated for late November, after 20 years of preparation, she said this preparation has been made during a long time and with close cooperation between Vietnamese and US authorities, cited VOV.

Recently, the Vietnam Airlines has received approval from US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for its aviation transport safety plan, paving the way for the airline to be licensed to carry out regular flights between the two countries, Hang said.

According to her, Vietnamese competent agencies are coordinating to complete final procedures for the carrier to carry out its flight plan. They will continue support other airlines that desire and are capable of operating direct flights to the US.

Vietnamese has three top 50 working-vacation locations

Hanoi, HCMC and Hoi An have been named among 50 best cities in the world to enjoy a ‘workation,’ a vacation that combines business with leisure.

Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi is ranked 18th on the list of 147 best cities to visit for a mixture of business and pleasure. The list was compiled by Germany-based vacation search engine company Holidu.

Ho Chi Minh City is ranked 21st and Hoi An 32nd.

Holidu ranked the cities and towns in the world based on a several factors including: monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment; cost of after-work drinks; average number of sunshine hours; wifi speeds; tourist attractions; average taxi fares; average price for two beers in a bar; and the number of co-working spaces.

The monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Hanoi and HCMC, Vietnam’s two biggest metropolises, were estimated at US$336.79 and US$550.51, respectively. In the central town of Hoi An, the monthly rent was US$218.95.

The average cost of a meal at a moderate restaurant in Hanoi was estimated at US$1.7, HCMC US$2.1 and Hoi An US$1.82.

The internet speed in Vietnam’s major tourist cities – 14 Mbps in Hanoi, 13 Mbps in HCMC and 12Mbps in Hoi An – lagged behind regional peers like Singapore at 93 Mbps and Bangkok at 28 Mbps.

Foreign tourists in front of the Central Post Office in downtown HCMC, February 2020. Photo: VnExpress

"Compared to many other cities in the world, the Wifi speed in the three cities of Vietnam is not the best, but the cost of eating and drinking is much lower," Holidu said.

According to Holidu, Hanoi has 50 co-working spaces and average taxi fare of $0.51 per kilometer. The numbers in HCMC are 92 co-working spaces and US$0.63 per km.

Thailand's Bangkok topped the list this year, followed by New Delhi (India), Lisbon (Portugal) and Barcelona (Spain).

"All the cities that secured top spot places managed to do so mostly due to their very affordable cost of living, with the price of accommodation, food and drinks offering extremely attractive prices," said Sarah Siddle, public relations and marketing manager at Holidu, according to VnExpress.

"The events of the past year and a half have completely shifted the ways in which we work, showing us that we don't always have to be in the office five days a week to do our jobs.

A workation is the perfect way to spend an extended period of time in a destination you want to explore without the limitations of staying within yearly holiday allowances."

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