A shipper conducts his own Covid-19 rapid test in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 29, 2021. Photo: VnExpress

Vietnam confirms 8,758 Covid-19 cases

Vietnam recorded 8,744 new Covid-19 cases Wednesday, double from Tuesday, with half of them in HCMC.

The biggest city recorded 4,699 new cases, followed by its neighbors Binh Duong, up 2,389 cases, and Dong Nai, up 899 cases.

This brings Vietnam’s Covid-19 tally to 779,398 since the beginning of the pandemic, cited VnExpress.

162 deaths were confirmed Wednesday, with 113 of them in HCMC. The daily average death tally in the last seven days is 188 cases.

23,568 patients were discharged Wednesday, bring the total to date to 583,509.

Vietnam has administered 41.15 million vaccine doses, in which 8.98 million is the second dose.

Army continues assisting southern localities’ fight against Covid-19 after September 30

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has requested the army to continue supporting Ho Chi Minh City and other southern localities in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic after September 30 when they begin loosening social distancing measures.

Dam, who is deputy head of the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, made the statement at his meeting with representatives from the Defense Ministry’s Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control in HCM City and southern localities on September 29.

Soldiers deliver food to pandemic-affected people. Photo: VNA

According to him, before the localities achieve herd immunity, it needs to take steps to adjust support forces appropriately.

He hailed efforts by military and military medicine forces to treat Covid-19 patients and join hands with locals to combat the pandemic, reported VOV.

Senior Lieutenant General Vo Minh Luong, head of the Government’s special working group on Covid-19 prevention and control in HCM City and southern localities, said after September 30 when HCM City and southern localities start loosening social distancing measures, the army will have adjustments suitable for each locality.

Luong proposed the Vietnam People's Army (VPA)’s General Department of Politics assign relevant agencies to coordinate with units and localities to extend disseminations to raise public awareness of pandemic prevention and control.

The VPA General Staff and the General Department of Logistics should adjust their forces to suit the new situation, he added.

Vietnam to play AFF Cup 2020 in Singapore

Singapore will be the host of AFF Cup 2020 after it was assessed to have met all requirements set by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF).

The AFF hosted an online meeting Tuesday afternoon wherein a vote was held among its 11 members to choose the host. Singapore won with seven votes.

Singapore fulfilled all the criteria to organize the tournament, including the government’s permission, pandemic response plan, travel convenience and risk insurance if the event was canceled, according to VnExpress.

The Singapore National Stadium, one of the venues for AFF Cup 2020 games. Photo: AFP

Singapore also has high standard facilities to host all matches of the AFF Cup. Its national stadium, with a capacity of 55,000, has hosted many big events like SEA Games 2015 and many other international football tournaments.

The AFF Cup was established in 1996 and Singapore hosted the first edition. The country has organized four AFF Cup tournaments and won four titles so far.

The biggest Southeast Asian football event was supposed to take place in 2020 but was pushed back to late 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The name AFF Cup 2020 will be maintained for the tournament set to take place from December 5, 2021 to January 1, 2022.

The contestants have been divided into two groups.

Group A consists of Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore and the winner of the play-off between Brunei and Timor-Leste.

Group B has defending champions Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.

Vietnam welcomes 114,500 foreign visitors in nine months

Vietnam welcomed about 114,500 foreign visitors in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year plunge of 97 percent, announced the General Statistics Office (GSO) on September 29.

The GSO attributed the nosedive to the continuation of Covid-19 preventive measures, including the closure of borders to international tourism, noting that most of the foreign arrivals were experts and technical workers performing duties at projects in Vietnam, cited VNA.

An aerial view of Hoi An ancient town in Quang Nam province. Photo: VNA

In the third quarter alone, the country greeted some 26,300 foreigners, slipping 40.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, as the pandemic has been gradually brought under control since early September, it has called on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to roll out tourism recovery policies, with safety being the top priority in the new normal.

Three important factors of the recovery plan include Covid-19 vaccine coverage, safety at tourism destinations, and optimal conditions for domestic and foreign tourists holding vaccination certificates.

Vietnam's import-export turnover up 24 percent in nine months

Vietnam’s trade turnover in the first nine months of this year reached US$483.17 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24.4 percent, according to the General Statistics Office.

In September alone, the import-export turnover attained US$53.5 billion, down 2 percent compared to the previous month but up 4.2 percent against the same period last year.

Vietnam shipped US$240.52 billion worth of goods abroad in the first nine months of 2021, up 18.8 percent year-on-year. The domestic sector contributed US$62.72 billion and the FDI sector (including crude oil) US$177.8 billion, increasing 8.5 and 22.8 percent annually, respectively.

Vietnam’s trade turnover in the first nine months of this year reached 483.17 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 24.4 percent. Photo: VNA

During the period, 31 products recorded an export value of over US$1 billion each and together they accounted for 92.5 percent of the nation’s total export.

The export of the group of processed industrial products reeled in US$214 billion, an increase of 19.5 percent from the same period last year. It was followed by agricultural and forestry products with US$17.7 billion (up 17.6 percent) and aquatic products US$6.17 billion (up 2.4 percent).

The US remained the biggest export market of Vietnam, spending US$69.8 billion on imports of Vietnamese products, a year-on-year rise of 27.6 percent. China came second with US$38.5 billion, up 18.3 percent. The EU and ASEAN followed with US$28.8 billion and 20.6 US$billion, increasing by 11.6 percent and 21.2 percent, respectively, VNA reported.

The import turnover in the nine-month period reached US$242.65 billion, a hike of 30.5 percent compared to the same period last year. Of which, domestic businesses imported US$83.72 billion worth of goods, up 25 percent, while FDI enterprises made up the majority with US$158.93 billion, an increase of 33.6 percent.

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