Vietnam News Today (October 14): Hanoi Allows On-site Dining, Taxi Services

Vehicles run on a downtown Hanoi street, September 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Hanoi allows on-site dining, taxi services

Hanoi allows on-site dining and reopening of parks, hotels and public transportation starting 6 a.m. Thursday, the municipal People’s Committee announced.

In a document issued by Hanoi People’s Committee Chairman Chu Ngoc Anh Wednesday, companies, offices and businesses can resume operations as normal starting Thursday morning.

Entities would evaluate coronavirus risks themselves, implement prevention measures and continue to encourage remote working, the document said.

Buses and taxis would operate as directed by the Hanoi Department of Transport. Museums and parks would also reopen, but groups must not exceed 10 people each.

Hotels and other residential services can also reopen, but function at half their maximum capacity.

Restaurants and other food and beverage establishments (except businesses that sell alcohol and beer) would be allowed to offer on-site dining at half of their maximum capacity. People must maintain required distances from each other, or screens used to separate them. Owners and their employees must be fully vaccinated, and their customers must medically declare themselves via QR codes, cited VnExpress.

After spending nearly two months under strict social distancing orders from July 24 to Sept. 21, Hanoi is beginning to relaxed its restrictions gradually as the country moves towards the new normal of living with the virus.

Over 4,000 infections have been recorded in the capital since the fourth coronavirus wave hit Vietnam in late April. The infections have been dropping rapidly over the last 10 days, with under 10 new cases being recorded a day.

Hanoi has vaccinated around 98 percent of its adults, accounting for 70 percent of the total city population, with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. Nearly 50 percent of the adults ave been fully vaccinated.

Nation to vaccinate 95% of children aged 12 to 17 against Covid-19 this year

The country is poised to have 95% of its 8.1 million children aged between 12 and 17 years old vaccinated in the final quarter of the year, according to the Ministry of Health.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen stated that the Ministry is in the process of outlining a roadmap for Covid-19 vaccination for children, initially for those from 12 to 17 years old. This policy is poised to be issued in a guideline regarding the implementation of work on October 15.

He went on to add that the Ministry is also reviewing making a list of children from three to 11 years old, while seeking addition vaccine sources. It is also gathering ideas from various experts and scientists for readiness in order to make guidance on vaccinations on this group.

Photo: VOV

The education-training and health sector are in the process of working hand in hand to make plans regarding vaccinations for particular groups of children towards reopening schools as swiftly as possible, reported VOV.

The Deputy Minister has asked localities to direct their departments of Education and Training to both review and assess pandemic prevention and control work in order to allow students to return to school.

During a recent working session held with representatives from the Ministry of Education and Training on October 12, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said that the Government has issued a resolution that sets a target of containing Covid-19 nationwide by the end of this year. Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training’s plans should be in tandem with this goal, he added.

The Ministry of Education and Training has also been asked to review regulations on pandemic safety at schools in the current circumstance when teachers and parents are fully vaccinated and students aged between 12 and 17 are to get their vaccine shots soon.

So far, over 57 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered to people aged 18 years old and above throughout the country, including over 39 million people, or 54% of the total adults who have received their first shots, and 16 million others, or more than 22%, have received full two doses.

Storm Kompasu approaches Gulf of Tonkin

Storm Kompasu is expected to enter the Gulf of Tonkin between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, before weakening.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, the storm was in the eastern sea regions of Hainan Island, about 600 km away from Thanh Hoa, 610 km away from Nghe An and 540 km away from Ha Tinh.

Within the next 12 hours, the storm would move west at 25-30 kph, entering the southern sea regions of the Gulf of Tonkin and may gradually weaken, said the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, according to VnExpress.

Satellite image of storm Kompasu, October 13, 2021. Photo: National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting

By 10 a.m. Thursday, the storm would be located above sea regions from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh, with a maximum wind speed of 75 kph.

Within the next 24 hours, the storm would maintain its direction and speed, making landfall onto regions between Thanh Hoa and Quang Binh and devolved into a tropical depression. At 1 p.m. Thursday, the tropical depression would already be on the land, with a maximum wind speed of 60 kph.

Starting Wednesday night to Thursday, strong winds would be observed along the coast from Quang Ninh to Quang Binh, as well as in certain areas up north due to a combination of cold air.

Also from Wednesday afternoon to Friday, heavy rains would occur in northern Vietnam and Quang Tri, with rain levels up to 200 millimeters per session. Regions from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh would also observe heavy rains with levels up to 350 millimeters. Flash floods and landslides may occur in certain areas, the center warned.

Due to ongoing impacts of cold air, heavy rains may persist in central Vietnam from Saturday to next Tuesday.

Storm Kompasu has killed at least nine and rendered 11 missing in the Philippines on Tuesday due to flooding and landslides, Reuters cited the national disaster agency as saying.

Hanoi preparing for resumption of road transport services

The Hanoi Department of Transport has asked road passenger transport service providers to set forth specific operational plans and submit them to the department and bus stations for approval of the service resumption.

The department said on October 13 that it has issued a document on the implementation of the Transport Minister’s Decision No. 1777/QD-BGTVT piloting the resumption of inter-provincial road passenger transport activities from October 13 – 20, ensuring safe and flexible response to and effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The transport firms must provide details of routes, trips, drivers and service staff working on vehicles, and manage passengers by QR codes. Any passengers who have not observed regulations stipulated in the Decision are not allowed to use the services, cited VNA.

Hanoi is preparing for resumption of road transport services. Photo: VNA

The companies are requested to send daily reports on their operation to the department before 1 p.m.

They will also coordinate with local authorities in managing returning passengers in line with regulations by the Ministry of Health and localities to prevent pandemic spread among the community.

The list of the passengers should be kept for at least 21 days since the last day of their trips, and forwarded to bus stations before being sent to the department.

The department also assigned its inspection forces to intensify their inspections and handling of violations during the pilot period and report results to the transport management bureau before 1 p.m. each day.

The director of the department will send relevant reports to the Directorate for Road of Vietnam before 3 p.m. every day, and to the municipal People’s Committee and the transport ministry.

Vietnamese teams win three prizes at 2021 International Blockchain Olympiad

Vietnamese teams earned three out of the 11 prizes offered at the recently concluded 2021 International Blockchain Olympiad, announced the Ministry of Science and Technology on October 12, according to VNA.

ViFaChain group bagged the Bronze Medal Award for a project to apply blockchain in origin tracing of agricultural supply chain with the third Highest Overall Score, winning US$5,000.

KidKat team won a 2,500-USD prize in E-governance theme, for its project to build child trafficking prevention system.

Vietnamese teams earn three out of the 11 prizes offered at the recently concluded 2021 International Blockchain Olympiad. Photo: VNA

For its part, LifeLink received a prize in HealthTech theme worth US$2,500. The team’s project aims to integrate blockchain with federated learning to support artificial intelligence technology in medical research.

The competition this year was held in virtual form hosted by Bangladesh, drawing 600 teams from 59 countries and territories.

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