First passengers with vaccine passports enter Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh. Photo: VOV

Vietnam accelerates vaccine passport scheme for foreign citizens

Vietnamese competent agencies are in the process of speeding up the deployment of vaccine passports, whilst adjusting immigration regulations and creating favorable conditions for experts, foreign workers, and investors to enter the country.

This statement was made by Doan Khac Viet, deputy spokesman for the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during a regular press briefing held on September 9 in Hanoi in response to a question from the media about information regarding the application of vaccine passports moving forward, cited VOV.

The Ministry of Health issued guidance on August 4 relating to the medical isolation for people entering Vietnam who have received two full doses of the Covid-19 vaccine or who have previously recovered from the virus.

At present, the country is considering implementing a pilot scheme of closed tourism for international travelers who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the official said.

This comes after flight VN5311 landed at Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh on September 4, carrying onboard 297 Vietnamese citizens from Japan. The a flight was part of the "7-day medical isolation" scheme being run by the Ministry of Health for citizens who have received a full dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

After entering Van Don International Airport, passengers were required to undergo a seven-day concentrated medical isolation, a period which was shortened to seven days from 14 compared to the normal process. However, the length of isolation will be dependent on the strain of Covid-19 variant where passengers departed from.

Hanoi receives nearly 2 mln Covid vaccine doses for mass campaign

Hanoi has received a million Covid-19 vaccine doses from Sinopharm among 2 million to be administered in a campaign until mid-Sept, the municipal health department said Thursday.

Vu Cao Cuong, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Health, said the Sinopharm doses were distributed by the Ministry of Health, reported VnExpress.

A health worker holds a vial containing a Covid-19 vaccine by Sinopharm in HCMC's Thu Duc City, August 15, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

A week ago, Hanoi received 161,460 Pfizer and 800,700 AstraZeneca doses. So far, the city has received around 4.3 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from the health ministry, and is aiming to wrap up its current vaccination round by Sept. 15.

The capital, home to nine million, has vaccinated around 2.9 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot, and over 317,000 people have been fully inoculated, according to data from the municipal health department. Around 57 percent of adults (over 18) in the city have received at least one vaccine shot.

Hanoi aims to vaccinate all adults with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot by Sept. 15.

Vietnam meanwhile has vaccinated over 23.5 million people with at least one Covid-19 vaccine shot. Over 3.7 million people have been fully inoculated.

Storm Conson to strengthen as it heads towards Vietnam

Storm Conson, the fifth to form in the Bien Dong Sea this year, could gather strength as it moves west from its current location towards Vietnam, meteorologists say.

At 4 p.m. Thursday, the storm was located around 450 km east-southeast of Vietnam's Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands with a maximum wind speed of 90 kph, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

Predicting the storm’s trajectory over the next five days, the center said it was likely to get stronger during this period. Over the next 24 hours, the storm would move west at 15 kph and at around 4 p.m. Friday, be directly above the eastern sea region of the Paracel Islands with a maximum wind speed of 115 kph.

Satellite image of storm Conson on the South China Sea, September 9, 2021. Photo: National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting

Within the next 48 hours, it would maintain its direction at 5-10 kph and at 4 p.m. Saturday, reach directly above the Paracel Islands with a maximum wind speed of 120 kph, the center predicts, according to VnExpress.

Moving west-northwest at the same speed over the next 72 hours, it would hover around 230 km west-northwest of the Paracel Islands with a maximum wind speed of 20 kph, the center said.

After five days or 120 hours, the storm would be moving northwest at 10 kph with diminished strength.

The center has warned of strong winds and rough seas.

The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said Thursday that localities from Ha Giang to Ha Tinh have prepared plans to evacuate around 766,000 people ahead of the storm. Localities in mountainous areas in northern Vietnam, prone to flash floods and landslides, are also expected to evacuate over 154,000 people.

Nguyen Dinh Hung, head of the search and rescue division of the border security force, said authorities have informed around 71,500 vessels and over 349,000 people about the storm's trajectory so they could avoid it.

After Conson, the Bien Dong Sea, should expect another 6-8 storms and tropical depressions this year, with 2-4 of them directly affecting Vietnam, meteorologists said.

VTV secures broadcasting rights to 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup

Vietnam Television (VTV) has won the rights to broadcast live the finals of the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup which will take place from September 12 to October 4 in Lithuania.

All matches at the finals of the Futsal World Cup will be broadcast across the country and through VTV’s digital platforms.

Photo: VOV

The ninth version of the global tournament will be held at three competition halls in Lithuania, including the Siemens Arena in Vilnius, Zalgiris Arena in Kaunas, and Svyturys Arena in Klaipėda.

This will mark the second time that the country has competed in the FIFA Futsal World Cup, coming following their participation in their first global competition in Colombia five years ago when Vietnam made history after making it to the quarter finals, cited VOV.

The 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup will feature the participation of 24 teams divided into six groups. They will compete in a round robin format with the top 12 first and second-placed teams and four best third-placed teams progressing to the round of 16.

Vietnam are in Group D alongside world champions Brazil, the Czech Republic, and Panama.

They are scheduled to take on Brazil on September 13, Panama on September 16, and the Czech Republic three days later.

Fourteen foreign TV channels to end broadcast in Vietnam

Fourteen foreign television channels will end their broadcast in Vietnam starting October 1, according to the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information at the Ministry of Information and Communications.

In their announcements, Disney Networks Group Asia Pacific Limited and Buena Vista International Inc said they will end their broadcast across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong (China) from the beginning of October, reported VNA.

Fourteen foreign television channels will end their broadcast in Vietnam starting October 1. Photo: VNN

The channels include Fox Movies, Fox Family Movies, Fox Action Movies, Fox, Fox Life, Fox Crime, FX, along with Channel V, Fox Sports, Fox Sports 2, Fox Sports 3, National Geographic People, Disney Channel and Disney Junior.

The Authority has asked paid TV services providers to promptly review the list of current foreign channels so as to build suitable business plans after October 1.

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